Spaargids.beAlthough we can pay by card almost everywhere these days, and we are increasingly opting for this, it is often advisable to also have a sum of cash. But how much cash can you actually collect at your bank branch? And may your banker ask what you intend to do with it? Spaargids.be guides you through the regulations.
By Johan Van Geyte, in collaboration with Spaargids.be 07-07-23, 09:14 Source: Spaargids.be
Cash money = risk
For decades it was the most normal thing in the world: taking cash to the bank to put it in your account and after a while taking it out again to pay expenses.
Today it is all a bit more difficult. If someone comes along with a large sum of money, a bank may ask about its origin. If she doesn’t trust it, she can also refuse the money. That’s because banks have to comply with strict legislation against possible money laundering. They are therefore allowed to refuse deposits of suspect origin.
Cash money is seen as a risk. It can be used for ‘black’ purchases or for bribery. That is why it has been legally prohibited for some time to use cash to purchase real estate. And if you buy something else, you may not pay more than 3,000 euros in cash.
A current account is an absolute must: See here which banks offer them free of charge and save tens of euros per year.
Current vs savings account
Can you withdraw unlimited cash? With a current account, the answer is ‘yes’. After all, visibility means that the money is immediately available. If it is on your account, you can pick it up. For large withdrawals, banks nevertheless ask that you notify them in good time for practical reasons, because they only have a limited amount of cash in house.
It is also said of a savings account that you can withdraw unlimited money from it. But here it is more a custom than a legal regulation. Banks have included a provision in their general rules on transactions, which you sign when you become a customer, that can limit withdrawals.
This is how KBC says: ‘In principle, the balance on a KBC Savings Account can be withdrawn without notice. Without prejudice to art. However, I.33.2 of the General Banking Terms and Conditions, the bank reserves the right, in exceptional cases: to make withdrawals of more than EUR 1,250 subject to a prior notice of five calendar days and to limit the total of withdrawals to EUR 2,500 per half month. ” In this way, the bank could hedge against sudden large withdrawals. The only question is whether she would ever apply this.
What does saving yield today? These are the savings accounts that currently offer the highest interest.
At the machine
Collecting money at the bank counter is one thing, withdrawing it from an ATM is another. For example, the standard limit for cash withdrawals with your debit card at Belfius is 650 euros per day. You can increase this to a maximum of 2,500 euros per day. For minors up to the age of 16, this is limited to 100 euros per day. This arrangement may differ per bank. It is mainly there for safety reasons. In the event of misuse of the card, the damage can be limited in this way.
proportional
But can a banker also ask you what you are going to do with your money? The banker may obtain information that is necessary to comply with its obligations under money laundering legislation, but this must be done proportionately. A banker is therefore not allowed to figure out what you are doing with your money for every transaction, small and large.
If your banker knows of or suspects unauthorized practices, he must report this to the anti-money laundering unit at his head office. Who can then check whether there are suspicious patterns on the account and, if necessary, transfer a file to the Financial Information Processing Unit? Your bank doesn’t even have to inform you about this.
Incidentally, all banks have programs running in the background to detect and report suspicious transactions.
Read also. Last year there were 967 complaints about fraudulent online payments: banks not keen to reimburse them.
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Living abroad: which country taxes your Belgian group insurance and pension savings?
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2023-07-07 07:14:55
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