Banking challenges arise for father in Tornio seeking services for developmentally disabled daughter

Kaius Almrot from Tornio is facing significant challenges in securing banking services for his developmentally disabled daughter. When Almrot’s daughter turned 18, her elder sister, acting as her guardian, obtained online banking credentials from Danske Bank. Almrot states that during this process, the bank agreed that the credentials could be used with assistance from her guardian.

Initially, everything went smoothly until the bank began asking the younger daughter for client identification questions. With assistance, she responded, but the inquiries soon intensified, becoming monthly. Eventually, the elder sister requested additional online banking credentials. Although these were not provided, the inquiries continued.

At one point, the online banking service indicated an error with their responses, prompting the elder sister to send the answers from the younger daughter’s account. The bank’s response was that this was not allowed, resulting in the complete closure of the daughter’s online banking credentials.

The bank indicated the credentials could be restored if the daughter visited the nearest branch in Oulu, over 100 kilometers away, to demonstrate her ability to use banking services. Almrot considers this virtually impossible due to his daughter’s health challenges. He emphasized the necessity for assistance, noting that the original credentials were granted with this need in mind, but the bank no longer deemed this a valid reason.

Danske Bank did not comment on the specific case but stated that they welcome all customers and aim to ensure safe and independent use of online banking. However, they emphasize that guardians should not share credentials with those they oversee and can request separate login credentials for guardians to manage banking operations on behalf of others.