What is a garnishment?

This article applies to N26 accounts with a French IBAN (starting with FR). If your account’s IBAN begins with DE, please click here.

If you owe money to a third party, such as a public authority or a private creditor, your N26 account may be subject to a garnishment. This is a legal procedure that allows a creditor to recover funds directly from your bank account.

• When N26 receives a garnishment order for your French IBAN account, we apply a partial freeze to your funds. Only the amount above the unseizable bank balance (SBI, for “Solde Bancaire Insaisissable”) is frozen, up to the amount of the garnishment.
• The unseizable bank balance (SBI) is set at 651,69 € (as of April 2026). This amount remains available to you for essential expenses and cannot be seized by creditors.
• If your account balance is below the SBI at the time we receive the garnishment, the garnishment is rejected and your account remains fully accessible. You will not be notified in this case.
• If your balance is above the SBI, only the funds above 651,69 € are frozen, up to the garnishment amount.
• Any incoming payments after the garnishment are not affected and remain available to you.

• You will receive a secure message in your N26 app with details about the garnishment, including:
  • Date of the garnishment
  • Name of the creditor
  • Reference number
  • Amount of the garnishment
• The frozen funds are transferred to the creditor after 30 days (for both public and private garnishments), unless we receive a release order (“repealing”) from the creditor within this period.
• For public garnishments, contesting the garnishment does not suspend the payout. If the court rules in your favor, the creditor will refund you directly.
• For private garnishments, contesting the garnishment does suspend the payout until a court decision is made. You must provide us with a certificate of non-contestation if you wish to contest.

• Certain types of income (such as social benefits) are unseizable. If you receive such income, please provide supporting documents within 15 days of the garnishment notification.
  • Activity bonus (Prime d'activité)
  • Allowances representing professional expenses (Indemnités représentatives de frais professionnels)
  • Lump-sum payments or annuities for work-related accidents (Indemnités en capital ou rentes pour accident de travail)
  • Severance pay due to the company’s economic situation (Indemnités de départ consécutif à la situation économique de l'entreprise)
  • Personalized autonomy allowance (Allocation personnalisée d'autonomie – APA)
  • Disability allowance for adults (Allocation aux adultes handicapés – AAH) and increased allowance for independent living (Majoration pour la vie autonome – MVA), except for the payment of maintenance costs for the disabled person
  • Specific solidarity allowance (Allocation de solidarité spécifique – ASS)
• The total of your unseizable income is not added to the SBI. Only the most advantageous amount applies.

• If there are not enough funds in your main account, funds may also be frozen from your savings or joint accounts to cover the garnishment.

The fee for processing a garnishment on your French IBAN account depends on the type of garnishment:

• Public garnishments (for example, Saisie Administrative à Tiers Détenteur or SATD from a public authority): The fee is 10% of the garnished amount, up to a maximum of 100 €.
• Private garnishments (for example, Saisie Attribution or Saisie Conservatoire from a private creditor): The fee is a flat 100 €, regardless of the amount garnished.

The fee is added on top of the garnished amount and is not deducted from the funds sent to the creditor.

Example: Public garnishment

• Garnishment order amount: 1,000 €
• Fee: 10% = 100 (maximum reached)
• Total amount debited or blocked: 1,100 €
  • 1,000 € is sent to the creditor
  • 100 € is retained by N26 as the processing fee

Once the payout to the creditor is completed, the partial freeze on your account will be lifted immediately.

For questions about the reason for the garnishment or how to contest it, please contact your creditor or the relevant authority directly.