The Danish-owned online bank Lunar has over 900,000 customers in the Nordics. But not everyone is satisfied. One of them is Oline Sæther.
It was in December last year that she chose to become a customer. A checking account with an interest rate of 4 percent was an offer the 28-year-old couldn’t refuse.
– I was very happy, and thought “shit” here we found a good offer, Sæther tells NRK.
However, the happiness was short-lived.
Just a few months into the customer relationship, an email arrived. The interest rate would be lowered to zero percent.
– I thought it was quite outrageous when I read that they changed the rate without any good reason.
The Consumer Council believes that there may be several legal violations in Sæther’s case.
Before NRK published this story, Lunar bank was advertising a 4 percent interest rate at the top of its own website. Now the offer can only be found further down the page.
Involved the family
Initially, Sæther was a satisfied bank customer. So satisfied that she also recommended friends and family to join in on the upswing.
JACKPOT: Oline Sæther (28) was on the hunt for a new bank when she found the offer from Lunar.
Photo: Skjalg Bøhmer Vold
As of today, there are no other banks in Norway that can boast a similarly good interest rate on a checking account.
Additionally, the income from the good interest comes in monthly on the checking account, unlike an annual settlement.
– So I see monthly that I get a few hundred kroner just because of the interest. And together, it amounts to a few thousand kroner a year, she explains.
But also for friends and family, the message about the planned interest rate change came on September 12. This is something that makes senior advisor at the Consumer Council Thomas Iversen respond.
– When the bank advertises an interest rate they initially cannot maintain, it could easily be something we call misleading marketing, and misleading marketing is illegal, explains Iversen.
The bank still advertises the interest rate of 4 percent on its own website. Sæther is crystal clear about what she thinks.
– It’s a genuine bait-and-switch offer, to put it that way.
Possible breach of contract
The Consumer Council states that they have not seen anything like this from other banks.
– This is a unilateral change from the bank’s side that does not pertain to changes in either the key interest rate or the interest market in general. It is only about the bank changing its product portfolio, he says.
HARD AT WORK: Thomas Iversen of the Consumer Council is not lenient in his judgment of Lunar. He believes there may be multiple legal violations in the bank’s practices.
Photo: Halvor Pritzlaff Njerve / Consumer Council
Therefore, the Consumer Council believes that the bank must have a clear basis in customer agreements for the change to be legal.
Additionally, this basis must be what the Consumer Council refers to as “reasonable”.
– What does that mean?
– An agreement becomes unreasonable if it is unbalanced in favor of the consumer, typically if the bank has granted itself too much freedom to change the agreement to the consumer’s detriment.
Bank on the hunt for money
Lunar is a new player in the banking world and started in 2018. Recently, the bank has been under financial pressure after losing a compensation case in Norway. They failed to meet the demands of the Financial Supervisory Authority for sufficient equity before the acquisition of the Norwegian Instabank.
They were later ordered to pay over half a billion kroner in compensation to the bank after the acquisition attempt failed. Lunar has appealed the case, meaning the judgment is not final yet.
However, the case has led to new capital requirements from the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority, and since then, Lunar has been seeking more money from its investors, writes the Danish newspaper Børsen. This year, they have raised 417 million from investors.
In their response to NRK, Lunar does not refer to this as a reason for the change in the 4 percent interest offer. In small print at the bottom of their website, they instead write:
“The interest cut is motivated by the need to utilize Lunar’s resources more efficiently, manage increased capital raising costs, as well as address other factors affecting Lunar’s earnings and pricing structure.”
At the same time, the bank has incurred large losses after the acquisition of Instabank fell through. Finansavisen has previously reported on the bank’s severe financial losses. In 2022, they lost 2.3 billion kroner.
Lunar: – In accordance with Norwegian law
NRK has presented Lunar bank with the criticism from Sæther and the Consumer Council.
Chief Commercial Officer at Lunar, Mats Persson Bergius, did not want to be interviewed for this story but responds to the criticism in an email through his communications advisor.
LEGAL: Chief Commercial Officer at Lunar, Mats Persson Bergius, believes the bank operates within Norwegian law. Despite the skepticism from the Consumer Council.
Photo: Lunar
He maintains that the bank operates on the right side of the law after being confronted with Sæther’s interest case.
According to him, the change in the interest offer is because they have not seen enough interest from consumers. He emphasizes that all customers have been notified of the interest change two months before it takes effect, in accordance with Norwegian law.
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