Dutch banks agree to make it easier for sex workers to open business accounts

Dutch banks want to make it easier for sex workers to open a business bank account. With the help of regulator DNB, they’ve set up a new Sector Standard for helping people in the sex work industry maintain business accounts while also adhering to the anti-money laundering law, the Dutch Banking Association (NVB) announced.

Sex workers often encounter problems with business bank accounts because they work a lot with cash, making it difficult for banks to know where the money comes from. It is also difficult for banks to determine the sector's typical income and expenditures, which complicates identifying suspicious transactions.

“If a bank has insufficient information during the customer survey to properly assess and, if necessary, limit the risks of money laundering, the bank may not open or maintain a bank account based on the Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Act,” the NVB said.

After discussing the issue with each other and the DNB, the banks set up a new Sector Standard, which specifies that banks can use sex workers’ tax returns to determine where their income comes from and what is typical for them. “So if a sex worker, in addition to good bookkeeping and registration with the Chamber of Commerce, can also submit the income tax return - or if this is not yet available, the VAT return - this makes it easier to open a bank account,” the NVB said.