why do I have to explain why I am sending money abroad

The bank investigates the transaction, not your good faith

This is part of the client due diligence that the bank is required to perform under the Act on the Prevention of Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism (Wwft). A foreign payment that deviates from your normal pattern — a new country, a higher amount, a new counterparty — often triggers this review automatically. The bank must then record what the business reason is and whether it aligns with the picture it has of your enterprise. This picture is built from the same kind of data you also provide to other parties: who represents the enterprise, who the ultimate beneficial owners are,, and where the funds come from.

Do you recognize the question also in another form — not about a single transaction, but about your structure in general? Then it is usually about the same client due diligence, only periodic instead of per payment. In that case, the bank often also asks about, the source of the company's assets and about the banking relationships you maintain elsewhere. The latter is not a check on your creditworthiness, but part of the same picture: a bank that knows which other banks you do business with can better understand a sudden new cash flow.

Basis: client due diligence under the Wwft

The obligation to continuously monitor transactions and the background thereof follows from the client due diligence as set out in the Wwft. The bank must not only at the start of the relationship, but also afterwards be able to demonstrate that a transaction fits the risk profile of the customer. Part of the underlying data — who the enterprise is, who is behind it — is already recorded in the trade register under the Trade Register Act 2007, but the bank must verify this itself and supplement it with the specific reason for the transaction. This is why the same question sometimes comes back in a slightly different form than you answered before.