# N26's new anti-fraud measure wrongly closes customer accounts; co-founder apologises

Source: https://www.bankingnewsai.com/ai-incidents/n26-2022-automated-anti-fraud-account-closures
Last updated: Oct 21, 2026

N26 · Institution's own AI · severity 2 of 5

In April 2022 a newly introduced anti-financial-crime measure at Berlin-based N26 wrongly closed a number of customer accounts, leaving people unable to pay bills or reach their savings. Co-founder and co-CEO Maximilian Tayenthal wrote that with one of the new measures, launched on 14 April, a number of accounts were "unfortunately wrongly closed", and apologised, Handelsblatt reported; the paper knew of 60 cases. Business Insider reported in May 2022 that more than 100 customers said their accounts had been closed. N26 told Business Insider it had rectified the measure, was refunding balances and was building a way to reactivate wrongly closed accounts. N26 says its checks use automated systems, specialised teams and machine learning, but the April measure was not described as AI.

## Key facts

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| Date | Apr 14, 2022 (disclosed Apr 27, 2022) |
| Institution | N26 |
| Country | Germany |
| AI system | Newly introduced anti-financial-crime measure that closed customer accounts; N26 says its checks generally combine automated systems, specialised teams and machine learning, but did not describe this measure as AI |
| AI? | Automated system not described as AI — The system was automated, but neither the institution nor a regulator described it as AI; it is listed because it is routinely discussed as an AI failure. |
| Category | Fraud model (Institution's own AI) |
| Status | Resolved |
| Severity | 2 of 5 — Limited harm: dozens to more than 100 customers reportedly lost access to their accounts and savings for weeks before N26 rectified the measure and began refunding balances; no regulator action over the closures was reported. |

## What happened?

On 14 April 2022 N26 launched new measures to detect and prevent fraud and financial crime. With one of them, accounts of legitimate customers were closed without notice. On 19 April N26 published a blog post explaining why it blocks accounts: it said it uses "automated systems, specialized teams and machine learning" to monitor activity, that customer-service staff may not tell account holders why an account is blocked, and that "on occasion, we may wrongly identify a legitimate customer as a potential fraudster". [1][2]

Co-founder and co-CEO Maximilian Tayenthal wrote in a LinkedIn post, as reported by Handelsblatt, that N26 had zero tolerance for financial crime and kept developing its detection systems, and that with one of the new measures launched on 14 April "leider eine Reihe von Konten fälschlicherweise geschlossen" ("a number of accounts were unfortunately wrongly closed"; our translation). He apologised to the affected customers. Handelsblatt said it knew of 60 cases, mostly of users in Germany but also in Italy and Belgium, who had had no access to their accounts since mid-April, and that N26 planned to transfer outstanding funds to an alternative bank account. [1]

Business Insider reported on 7 May 2022 that more than 100 N26 customers said their accounts had been suddenly closed on 14 April. It interviewed 12, spread across Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Ireland, Latvia and Romania; ten had had no access to their funds for 21 days and two had received their money. Customers described being unable to pay phone and electricity bills; one said she lost a €3,000 prepayment on an apartment, and a refugee from Ukraine said she lost access to about €15,000. Customers also described poor communication and customer support. [3]

## Timeline

- Apr 14, 2022 — N26 launches new anti-fraud measures; one of them wrongly closes a number of customer accounts. [1][3]
- Apr 19, 2022 — N26 publishes a blog post explaining why it blocks accounts and acknowledging it may wrongly identify legitimate customers. [2]
- Apr 27, 2022 — Handelsblatt reports co-founder Maximilian Tayenthal's apology and 60 known cases. [1]
- May 7, 2022 — Business Insider reports more than 100 affected customers; N26 says it has rectified the measure and is refunding balances. [3]

## What was the impact?

- Customers: Handelsblatt knew of 60 cases; Business Insider reported more than 100 customers who said their accounts were closed. N26 has not published a total.
- Other: Affected customers lost access to their accounts and savings for weeks; N26 did not publish a loss figure. [1][3]

## How did N26 respond?

Maximilian Tayenthal apologised: "Ich kann mir vorstellen, wie stressig und frustrierend eine unerwartete Situation wie diese sein muss, und ich möchte mich bei den Kunden, die davon betroffen sind, aufrichtig entschuldigen" ("I can imagine how stressful and frustrating an unexpected situation like this must be, and I sincerely apologise to the customers affected"; our translation). N26 told Business Insider it was contacting affected customers and refunding balances, had "rectified" the measure, and was rolling out "a technical solution that will allow us to offer customers whose accounts were wrongly closed the ability to have their account reactivated". [1][3]

## What was the outcome?

N26 said it had rectified the measure, was refunding account balances or transferring them to customers' other accounts, and was building a way to reactivate wrongly closed accounts. As of the Business Insider report on 7 May 2022 most of the interviewed customers were still waiting. No regulator action over the closures was reported as of 2026-10-21. [1][3]

## FAQ

### Why did N26 close customer accounts in April 2022?

A new measure to detect fraud and financial crime, launched on 14 April 2022, wrongly closed a number of legitimate customers' accounts. N26 co-founder Maximilian Tayenthal acknowledged the error and apologised, according to Handelsblatt, and N26 told Business Insider it had rectified the measure.

### Was the N26 account-closure system AI?

N26 did not say. Its blog says it fights financial crime with automated systems, specialised teams and machine learning, but neither N26 nor the press reports described the specific April 2022 measure as AI or machine learning, so the register treats it as an automated system not described as AI.

### How many N26 customers were affected?

N26 has not published a figure. Handelsblatt said it knew of 60 cases, mostly in Germany but also in Italy and Belgium, and Business Insider reported in May 2022 that more than 100 customers said their accounts had been suddenly closed.

### Did N26 customers get their money back?

N26 said it was contacting affected customers and refunding balances, and was building a way to reactivate wrongly closed accounts. When Business Insider reported on 7 May 2022, two of the 12 customers it interviewed had received their money and ten had been without access for 21 days.

## Sources

1. [N26-Co-Gründer Tayenthal zu Kontoschließungen: „Möchte mich aufrichtig entschuldigen“](https://www.handelsblatt.com/finanzen/neobank-n26-co-gruender-tayenthal-zu-kontoschliessungen-moechte-mich-aufrichtig-entschuldigen/28276352.html) — Handelsblatt, Apr 27, 2022 (news): "Bei einer der neuen Maßnahmen, die am 14. April gestartet sei, wurde „leider eine Reihe von Konten fälschlicherweise geschlossen“, hieß es weiter."
2. [Why does N26 block accounts?](https://n26.com/en-eu/blog/why-does-n26-block-accounts) — N26, Apr 19, 2022 (official): "We do this in a number of ways, using automated systems, specialized teams and machine learning to monitor for activity within our base."
3. [More than 100 customers of N26, one of Europe's biggest online banks, say their accounts were suddenly closed — and some haven't gotten their money back](https://www.businessinsider.com/n26-bank-europe-customers-account-closures-access-savings-2022-4) — Business Insider, May 7, 2022 (news): "N26 told Insider that it is in the process of contacting affected customers and refunding account balances and said it has "rectified" the measure that led to the error."

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