Know your customer – why do we ask?

Why do you ask such questions? 

We at Nordea are working hard to secure your financial interests. As a bank, we are also responsible for preventing illegal activities, such as fraud, identity theft, human trafficking, drug dealing, terrorist financing and financial crime, including money laundering and tax evasion. Nordea is a trusted member of society. We wish to keep this trust.

We take our responsibility seriously and are obliged to know how our customers use our products and services. Ultimately, this is a question of statutory requirements, which means that we are obliged to obtain this information on our customers. 

Do you ask these questions of all your 

Yes. We ask these questions of all our customers but we do it at different times. We know that almost all of our customers are honest but we must ask these questions of everyone without exception in order to identify the few that are not.

You and our other customers can help us prevent illegal activities by answering these questions. 

What is this information used for? 

We use this information for getting to know our customers and understanding them. This way we can secure their financial interests and detect any illegal activity.

We wish to protect our customers and the entire society. We know that most of our customers are honest. This information is updated in our customer information systems so that all information about you will be correct and up to date. 

Do I have to answer all these questions? 

Yes. All customers must answer these questions. As a bank and a reliable member of society, Nordea is obliged to ask these questions of all its customers.

Will you end my customer relationship with Nordea if I do not answer these questions? 

If you have not yet answered these questions, we will try to contact you, as it is important for us to get your answers. You may have many kinds of reasons for not answering them and therefore we want to contact you.

If we cannot reach you, it may ultimately lead to a situation in which we can no longer provide you with all of our services or give you the advice you need. 

Do all banks ask these kinds of questions? 

Yes. The authorities require that all banks ask these questions of their customers. However, banks may do it differently and at different times. Still, the statutory obligations are the same for all banks.

Banks may decide themselves how they get this information.

Further information: www.finanssivalvonta.fi 

No. The purpose of your answers is only to make sure that all information on you is correct and up to date at Nordea. We also use the information in connection with statutory reporting.

We handle your information confidentially in compliance with bank secrecy and the Finnish Personal Data Act.

How do I know that a letter has been sent by Nordea or that a website is actually Nordea’s and not a hoaxing or phishing attempt? 

After you have logged in to Netbank or written the web address, you will see a padlock icon in the address bar. It tells you that you are on a secure page. Before you fill in a form, you can check that your name and personal identity number have been filled in automatically.

If you have received a letter containing a link and a personal code, be sure to write the web address yourself.

If you are not sure if you have in fact been contacted by Nordea, you can call Nordea Customer Service, tel 0200 70 000.

I’m a long-time Nordea customer. Why do I have to answer these questions now? What do you need this information for? There have been no changes to my customer information since I became your customer. Do I still have to answer these questions? 

The authorities require all Finnish banks to keep their customer information up to date. First and foremost, we want to secure your financial interests and protect you from illegal activity, such as identity theft, fraud and phishing. This is part of our responsibilities as a bank and this is why we must ask these questions.

We ask these questions of all new customers and our current customers regardless of how long they have been our customers.

The reason why we are asking these questions right now is that the Finnish authorities and legislators have introduced stricter rules. These rules specify what information financial institutions must have on their customers

Our most important goal is to take care of your financial interests. This means protecting you from identity theft, fraud and other types of financial crime.

Depending on your answers, we may need additional information. If the information is contradictory, we may contact you to make sure that the information you have provided is correct

Will you use this information against me when I contact the bank in the future? 

First and foremost, we want to secure your financial interests and protect you from illegal activity, such as identity theft, fraud and phishing.

This is why we may contact you if your answers do not correspond to reality.

By contacting you, we can above all make sure that the information you provided is correct and can update it if it is not. 

I also have a customer relationship with other banks and they do not operate in this way. How can you say that all banks ask these kinds of questions? 

The authorities require all Finnish banks to keep their customer information up to date. We ask these questions to make sure that your customer information is correct and up-to-date.

Each bank gets to decide how and when it contacts its customers. Still, the statutory obligations are the same for all banks.

Further information: www.finanssivalvonta.fiOpens new window