The Danish Anti-Money Laundering Act requires us as a bank to be able to provide documentation to the authorities showing that we know who our customers are and how they use our products and services. This is to help prevent fraudulent use of the financial system. 

Among other things, knowing our customers enables us to take action if a customer behaves in an unusual way or if we can see that unusual transactions are made via the customer’s account. We are under obligation to notify the authorities if we suspect that a transaction may be illegal, for example if there are any signs of money laundering or activities related to the financing of terrorism. 

We understand that some customers may feel inconvenienced when we ask for proof of identity and/or other information. But just as the security checks at an airport ensure that all travellers can enjoy a safe flight, it is both necessary and in the best interests of us all that we meet the legal requirements for knowing our customers.  

Yes, like all other banks, we must be able to provide documentation to the authorities showing that we know who our customers are and understand how they use our products and services. 

Our obligation to establish and maintain our knowledge of our customers is set out in section 11 of the Danish Anti-Money Laundering Act. You can find section 11 of the Danish Anti-Money Laundering Act below with the relevant parts of the rules underlined.

The rules do not state specifically which documents we as a bank must require our customers to submit to us. Section 11(1)(ii) of the Danish money Laundering Act states that the bank “[…] must verify the customer's identity information on the basis of documents, data or information obtained from a reliable and independent source”. 

All banks must therefore themselves assess what documentation they deem sufficient to enable them to comply with the rules of Danish legislation. 

Danske Bank generally requests that all customers provide us with a copy of a valid photo ID and health insurance card because we believe that this is the most secure way of documenting that the customer is the person that the customer claims to be.

These instructions apply to children who live in Denmark.

If your child lives outside Denmark, please go to ‘What types of proof of identity for children do you need to upload copies of? For children living outside Denmark’. 

Please note that

• the child’s proof of identity must be valid (i.e. not expired)
• the images must be in focus and all the information must be clearly visible
• a selfie is not a valid form of photo ID

Which proof of identity do you need to upload copies of?

• a copy of the child’s passport or equivalent photo ID, for example an ID card with photo
• PLUS a copy of the child’s health insurance card or equivalent ID with no photo

If your child does not have a valid passport or other type of photo ID

If your child does not have a passport or other valid photo ID, you can instead upload copies of three (3) types of proof of identity without a photo.
Please see below for a list of types of valid proof of identity and documentation of address.

Valid photo ID

• Passport, diplomatic passport, alien’s passport and official (service) passport
• National identity card issued by an approved country
• Type C, D or F residence card (front and back in colour)
• Moped licence
• ID card with photo (issued by a Danish citizen service centre (Borgerservice))

If your child has a driver's licence, this can of course also be used. The driver’s licence must have been issued by an EU, EEA or EFTA country – including Norway, the Faroe Islands and Greenland.

Valid proof of identity without a photo

• Health insurance card
• Name certificate
• Birth certificate
• Certificate of personal data
• Most recent tax assessment notice or preliminary income assessment from the Danish tax authorities
• Type C, D or F residence card (front and back in colour)
• Notification of issuance of a CPR number from your local municipality (‘Meddelelse om CPR-nr’)

These instructions apply to children who live outside Denmark.

If your child lives in Denmark, please go to ‘What types of proof of identity for children do you need to upload copies of? For children living in Denmark’.

Please note that

• the child’s proof of identity must be valid (i.e. not expired)
• in addition to a passport, you must document or confirm the child's place of residence – see below which documentation to upload
• the image must be in focus and all information must be clearly visible
• a selfie is not a valid form of photo ID

Which proof of identity do you need to upload copies of?

• A copy of the child’s passport or equivalent photo ID
• PLUS a copy of the child’s health insurance card or equivalent ID with no photo
• PLUS documentation of the child’s place of residence

Please see below for a list of types of valid proof of identity and documentation of place of residence.

If your child does not have a valid passport or other type of photo ID
If your child does not have a passport or other valid photo ID, you can instead upload copies of three (3) types of proof of identity without a photo.
Please see below for a list of types of valid proof of identity and documentation of address.

Valid photo ID

• Passport, diplomatic passport, alien’s passport and official (service) passport
• National identity card issued by an approved country
• Type C, D or F residence card (front and back in colour)
• Moped licence
• ID card with photo (issued by a Danish citizen service centre (Borgerservice))

If your child has a driver's licence, this can of course also be used. The driver’s licence must have been issued by an EU, EEA or EFTA country – including Norway, the Faroe Islands and Greenland.

Valid proof of identity without a photo

• Health insurance card
• Name certificate
• Birth certificate
• Certificate of personal data
• Most recent tax assessment notice or preliminary income assessment from the Danish tax authorities
• Type C, D or F residence card (front and back in colour)
• Notification of issuance of a CPR number from your local municipality (‘Meddelelse om CPR-nr’)

Documentation of the child’s address outside Denmark 

The documentation may not date back more than 6 months and must be written in Latin script. It is important that your child’s full name and address be stated in the document. 

You can upload one of the following types of document, for example:

• An account statement from your child’s local bank
• A document from a public authority in your child’s country of residence
• A national ID card issued in your child’s country of residence

• Place the passport on a table or other flat surface.
• You need only take a photo of the page that contains the photograph of child, its name, etc.
• Make sure there is enough light – but avoid any reflection.
• Make sure that the photo is in focus and that all the information is clearly visible

See examples of correctly taken photos of proof of identity here. 

Like all other banks, Danske Bank must comply with the Danish Anti-Money Laundering Act (Hvidvaskloven), and we must also comply with our own internal anti-money laundering rules.

To enable us to achieve this, we need basic knowledge about our customers: Who are they? Where do they live? How and why are they using Danske Bank? This is why we are contacting you and asking you to provide us with the information we need, including proof of your address, details of your citizenship, proof of your identity and similar information.

We fully understand that this may be an inconvenience and can seem strange if you have been a Danske Bank customer for many years. However, just as security checks at the airport are necessary and make your journey safer, it is also necessary for us to document the identity of our customers to enable us to assist the authorities in preventing financial crime.

We use the information for a number of purposes, including as documentation and to identify so-called Politically Exposed Persons (PEPs) and individuals with close relations to these people.

There are also many practical reasons for asking for such information. For example, asking you for proof of your address also helps ensure that we have the correct address when we need to send you a new payment card or similar.

At Danske Bank, fighting financial crime in society is one of our highest priorities, and knowledge of our customers is an essential element of our work in this area. By knowing who each individual customer is, we make it difficult for those few individuals who want to commit crime. 

It is our assessment that proof of address, knowledge of citizenship and similar information is absolutely fundamental in enabling Danske Bank to work to prevent financial crime. 

So if there are customers who do not send us the necessary information, we have no option other than to block their accounts, cards, and other facilities until we receive the information we need. 

Blocking accounts and payment cards is always a last resort, and we will make repeated attempts to contact customers from whom we need information before the situation reaches this point.