To combat fraud and money laundering, La Banque Postale has introduced new rules for depositing cash in the current accounts and Livret A passbooks of its 10.3 million customers.
Controlled, traceable deposits
From now on, cash deposits in excess of 10,000 euros are simply prohibited.
Payments of between €1,501 and €10,000 made over a rolling 30-day period must be accompanied by a document justifying the source of the funds, such as an invoice or a notarized letter in the case of an inheritance.
Deposits of less than 1,500 euros accumulated over a 30-day period will now be processed on presentation of a "declaration of origin of funds" in addition to the identity document already required.
In addition, it is now impossible for a Banque Postale customer to use a proxy to make a deposit of over €1,500. Only the account holder (or his/her legal representative) is authorized to carry out this transaction, which must be made at the post office where the customer's account is domiciled.
A heavy penalty at the end of 2018
La Banque Postale had been fined 50 million euros at the end of 2018, due to shortcomings in its system for combating the financing of terrorism. TheAutorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution (ACPR) had detected "a serious deficiency in the detection system."
This shortcoming was linked to the cash mandate service, closed since the beginning of 2018, which then enabled the transfer of up to 1,500 euros in cash in France or abroad. On the same day or the following day, the recipient of this transfer could withdraw the amount transferred at the post office.
However, during an internal audit, the Banque Postale found that 75 national cash mandate transactions had been validated and executed for customers whose surnames, first names and dates of birth matched those of persons subject to a freeze order, mostly for terrorist activities.
By tightening the terms and conditions for depositing cash, La Banque Postale seems determined to reinforce control over the origin of its customers' funds.