Corona: in the bank with the mask?

Florian Tiefenböck studied human medicine at the LMU Munich. In March 2014, he joined as a student and has supported the editorial team with medical articles ever since. After receiving his medical license and practical work in internal medicine at the University Hospital Augsburg, he has been a permanent member of the team since December 2019 and, among other things, ensures the medical quality of the tools.

More posts by Florian Tiefenböck All content is checked by medical journalists.

It is still mandatory to wear a mask in many places - even when visiting banks. For some banking transactions you have to take off your mouth and nose mask in order to be able to be identified beyond doubt. Otherwise the mask stays on. What are the rules in the bank?

Masked to the bank counter: That is a strange feeling for many people. What was usually forbidden by the banks by domiciliary rights before the Corona crisis is now mandatory in many branches. Before entering a bank it is usually said: Put your mask on. Mouth and nose protection is also part of the new normal in the bank.

Mask off with new contracts

However, for some banking transactions, such as opening an account, employees must be able to determine the identity of the customer beyond doubt. This is what the legislator demands. In some financial institutions, employees therefore ask their customers to briefly remove their face mask at the counter so that they can compare their face with the photo on their ID card. They are separated and protected, for example, by a plexiglass pane.

"When customers come to the bank with a mask on, they only have to take it off briefly for new contracts where the person can be identified by identification," explains Steffen Steudel from the Federal Association of German Volksbanks and Raiffeisenbanks (BVR).

Thomas Rienecker from the German Savings Banks and Giro Association (DSGV) says: "It can be assumed that a mask has to be removed at least for a short time if, for example, its size prevents an unequivocal identification of the counterpart."

Mask requirement in the self-service area

If a mask is required, mouth and nose protection must be worn in the self-service area. When withdrawing money from the machine, the customer identifies himself by entering his PIN and not by facial recognition - it is not necessary to remove the mask.

If you are not allowed to wear a respirator due to an illness such as asthma, you can enter the branch at some banks without a face mask or wear a plexiglass visor, but must present a corresponding medical certificate.

Before the crisis, many banks had banned the wearing of masks or motorcycle helmets as a rule by domiciliary right. The only exceptions were religiously motivated face veils. (ft / dpa)

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