Bank account frozen? What you can do now

A digital account usually runs inconspicuously: salary comes in, rent goes out, a transfer here, a card payment there, perhaps occasionally abroad — to Norway, to Singapore. Everything seems normal. Then, without warning, the bank account is frozen. Often precisely when it is most inconvenient: on the road, abroad, at the bakery, and the card payment is declined. It is the 27th of the month, fixed costs are about to fall due, and suddenly you can no longer access your own money.

The first reaction is usually to write to customer support — and there one often first encounters a frustrating AI chatbot, then long waiting times, without anything changing about the freeze. For the bank, this is one case among many; for you, it is access to your own money.

Customers of digital banks such as N26, Revolut, Wise, Vivid or Monese are particularly frequently affected — their cross-border, fully digital business model regularly leads to enhanced checks under the Geldwäschegesetz (GwG, German Anti-Money Laundering Act). This is not an exception, but documented practice: after BaFin (Federal Financial Supervisory Authority) uncovered serious deficiencies in risk and complaints management in December 2025, N26 has been under the constant supervision of an external special representative and subject to business restrictions. In 2026, the Italian competition authority AGCM also imposed a fine on Revolut, among other things because customers were not adequately informed in advance and supported in the event of account restrictions — Revolut has appealed against the decision.

The legal position is as follows: an account freeze in this form cannot be maintained indefinitely. As soon as you can prove that you are the account holder, there is as a rule a right to have the account released — irrespective of how long the bank's internal review process takes. The bank must in principle inform you of the reasons for the freeze (§ 675k BGB, German Civil Code); it may withhold this information only if there actually is a suspicion of money laundering and the so-called tipping-off prohibition applies (§ 47 GwG). In all other cases, it is obliged to provide information. In practice, banks regularly start to move as soon as a lawyer's letter is received — the risk of exposing themselves to challenge by a customer represented by a lawyer is usually too high for them.

Anyone who obtains legal support early in this situation often shortens the freeze in practice from weeks to days. Call me or write to me — I will tell you within a short time how your situation is to be assessed and which step is the right one now.