Customers De-banked Over Reputational Risks Must Be Told of the Reason, Government Says

The Treasury will publish draft regulation by the end of the year and amend the relevant law “as soon as parliamentary time allows.”

People maintain social distance while they queue outside a Natwest bank as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues, in London, Britain, on March 26, 2020. Hannah McKay/Reuters

Banks that want to close an account over reputational risks will have to make the reasoning “specifically clear” to the customer, the government said on Monday.

It’s part of the planned regulatory change to make it harder for payment service providers to de-bank customers for primarily commercial reasons.