Bunq account blocked after salary payment.€2,000 transfer to Wise stuck and €3,600 frozen. What can I do?
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I arrived in Germany from India on July 10 for a job at Deutsche Bank. I get paid on the 15th of every month.
When I arrived, I didn't have my German tax ID yet, so I couldn't open a bank account to receive my salary. I received my tax ID toward the end of July, but opening an employee account with Deutsche Bank was expected to take more than two weeks. So, I opened a personal account with bunq and provided my IBAN to Deutsche Bank so they could process my salary.
I received my July and August salaries together in my bunq account on August 14, since August 15 was a Saturday and Deutsche Bank processed the payment early. The total salary payment was €5,700.
Before receiving my salary, there were also two relatively small transactions into my account:
- €670 from a friend for rent
- €300 reimbursement from Deutsche Bank for a work-related travel expense
On August 15, I initiated a €2,000 transfer from bunq to Wise to send money back to my parents in India. The transfer didn't go through over the weekend, so I assumed it would be processed on the next business day.
However, on Monday, my bunq account was blocked.
The bunq AI chatbot asked me to explain the source of my funds. I explained that the €5,700 was my salary from Deutsche Bank and provided everything it requested, including my payslips, passport, photo, and job description.
My documents were eventually approved, but my account is still blocked.
The situation is particularly frustrating because the €2,000 transfer to Wise hasn't gone through, and the remaining ~€3,600 in my bunq account is also completely frozen. So effectively, I currently have access to none of my money.
This is becoming quite stressful because I need the money for:
- I don't even have cash to buy groceries
- Next month's rent
- Bills and living expenses
- Most importantly, sending money to my parents in India. I borrowed money from them to finance my move to Germany, so I need to repay them. They need to pay their own mortgage payments and can't wait.
The bunq chatbot hasn't been helpful. It keeps giving me the same generic responses and doesn't provide a meaningful explanation or timeline for when my account will be unblocked.
TL;DR: I recently moved to Germany for a job at Deutsche Bank. I received €5,700 in salary into my bunq account. I then tried to transfer €2,000 to Wise to send money to my parents in India. The transfer didn't go through, and bunq subsequently blocked my account. I submitted payslips, passport, photo, and job details for the source-of-funds review, and my documents were approved, but my account is still frozen. The €2,000 transfer is stuck and I also can't access the remaining ~€3,600 balance. I urgently need the money for rent, bills, and my parents. Has anyone experienced this with bunq? What can I do to escalate this and get access to my money?