Finance Min: One bank can refuse sex workers' business

Triodos Bank may refuse opening an account for Proud, an Amsterdam-based association of sex workers, wrote  Finance Minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem to parliament on Thursday. The bank gave sufficient reason in denying the organization access to its services, according to the minister.

“The acceptance criteria for the bank show that Triodos provides its services to organizations and companies that, in the opinion of the bank, contribute to enhancing quality of life in society,” Dijsselbloem wrote. This was a substantial enough reason to refuse servicing the client, according to Dijsselbloem.

It is not a problem that banks pursue different policies, wrote the minister, while admitting that there is a level of tension that accompanies the decision.

If no other bank were prepared to provide service for the organization, Proud would be unfairly cut off from payment methods. However, while the other banks open business accounts to workers in the sex industry, the decision of Triodos, a single bank in the system, does not cause problems, according to Dijsselbloem.