Bunq fined for not responding to complaints quickly enough

In total, seven complaints made to the bank by clients did not receive a response from Bunq for several weeks after the deadline, the AFM said. Banks such as Bunq are required to give a detailed response to a complaint within 15 days after receiving it.

Some of the bank’s clients contacted the bank in 2023 and 2024 after losing tens of thousands of euros to online fraudsters.

“It is essential for trust in the financial sector that complaints are dealt with properly and in time,” AFM board member Jos Heuvelman said. “Clients should be able to count on their complaints being taken seriously, in particular when they are the victims of fraud.”

Nevertheless, the AFM points out that Bunq did compensate clients, even though it was not always required by law to do so, and this shows that the bank “did act in their interests in the end.”

Because of the compensation, the AFM lowered the fine from €200,000 to €170,000.

Bunq paid out more than €10 million to clients who were victims of scams in 2024,  according to its annual report. In 2023, payouts totalled €203,000.