Foreigners in Finland should be able to access banking services using foreign identity documents after a landmark ruling from the country’s discrimination tribunal forcing banks to accept foreign ID documents.
The tribunal ruled in favour of an Estonian who had been denied online banking codes by S Bank unless he could provide an identity document issued by a Finnish authority. That means a driving licence, passport or police-issued ID card.
The Estonian contacted the Ombudsman for Minorities, who asked the Discrimination Tribunal to investigate. The tribunal found that refusing to accept foreign ID was an over-reaction to the elevated risk of money laundering and terrorist financing, and that the S Bank policy was therefore discriminatory. S Bank has been given a conditional fine of 5,000 euros for breaking Finland’s Equality Law but says it will appeal.
Denial of access to online banking is problematic in Finland, where online banking identifiers have become a gateway to access many online services provided by public bodies.
The tribunal's English-language press release is online here.