Why can Bitsa block or suspend an account?

Bitsa acts on behalf of a regulated financial institution and is therefore obliged to follow certain security standards and procedures to provide a secure payment environment.

These types of processes are carried out by the compliance department, which is responsible for ensuring compliance with laws and external regulations, as well as compliance with the company's own internal procedures. In other words, they identify and classify legal risks, in addition to establishing prevention, management, control, and reaction mechanisms.

As in any other banking institution, there are several reasons why accounts may be blocked according to the laws and procedures to which Bitsa is subject.

In most cases, the blocking is easily solved, since it is always the result of a temporary intervention imposed by law.

The following are the main reasons why our compliance department may decide to block an account:

1. Use of a document in the identity verification system that is false, erroneous, or deteriorated that is not in accordance with KYC (Know Your Customer) policies. Also the use of another person's identity document or impersonation.
2. Possible violations of anti-money laundering and counter financing of terrorist laws. Bitsa is obliged to comply with the Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Act. Therefore, it has the right to prevent the operation of a bank account in which unjustified deposits or irregular account movements have been detected (SEPA transfers from risky countries, recharges with cards from risky countries, etc.).
3. Failure to cooperate with Bitsa with respect to the collection of clarifying information and/or supporting documentation. Except in cases of particular gravity, at Bitsa we allow sufficient time for the customer to submit the information requested by the compliance department.
4. Other reasons are due to internal procedures and controls. For example, we receive police reports, complaints from other Bitsa users, etc.

And we understand that in case this happens to you, some doubts may arise. For example... How long will it take to recover your account?

In Bitsa we always try to solve the incident as soon as possible, however, the time to recover it will depend on the type of incident and also on the delay in sending the requested information. In most cases, this is solved in a few days. However, there are more complicated cases in which this process can take longer and can last for months.

What happens if you do not provide the requested information or do not cooperate?

As a financial institution and as mentioned above, Bitsa is legally obliged to act on the basis of the European Union directives against money laundering and terrorist financing. Therefore, we must ensure at all times that our products and services are not used to carry out fraudulent activities, integrate illegal funds into the financial system as well as finance acts of terrorism.

Failure to obtain any response from the user or refusal to provide the requested information will be considered an act of non-cooperation that may result in the blocking of the Bitsa account.