Rejected Applications
Even if a bank has proof of your identity, details of your income and other personal information, they may still choose to reject your application for a bank account. They are entitled to reject your request, even if you urgently require an account to facilitate salary payments or the payment of state benefits. They must however give one of the following reasons for this rejection:
The applicant has threatened or harassed bank customers or employees
The applicant may not be able to pay the costs associated with the management of the account
The applicant has - knowingly - given the bank false information
The applicant's identity could not be verified, or there was suspicion of false identity
The applicant cannot match the required minimum monthly account income (applicable only for some types of account)
A bank will not agree to accept an application if they believe the applicant will not be able to meet the contractual agreements that arise from the account, or if the applicant could potentially be dangerous, and perhaps violent towards employees or other customers.
However, in general, banks will reject account applications based on other reasons, such as a poor credit rating. A poor credit rating may be the result of unpaid loans, missed credit payments or a previous bankruptcy.
If your application to open an account has been rejected, you should request details of the reason for this decision from the bank. The ZKA, or Central Credit Committee, has forms available on their website to use for this purpose: you can either download the form or collect one from your local consumer advice centre.
For more details, see:
