My bank card is lost or stolen — how do I block it and who do I tell?
Block it now: through the app, or by calling Your bank — card and payment line — the number is also on your bank's site and works 24/7. Until you block it you can be liable for a small excess; after the block you are liable for nothing. Then file a report with Poliisi — rikosilmoitus (poliisi.fi) if it was stolen — the bank and any insurer will ask for the report number to refund fraudulent payments. If the bank refuses to refund payments made after you reported the loss, FINE — Vakuutus- ja rahoitusneuvonta / Pankkilautakunta (09 6850 120) decides.
🗣️ What to say
"My [debit/credit] card ending [digits] was [lost/stolen] on [date] at about [time]. Please block it immediately, list any payments since then, and tell me how to dispute the ones I did not make."
🪜 Step by step
- Block first, search laterApp, phone banking or the emergency line. A card found later can be unblocked; money spent cannot be un-spent.
- Check recent paymentsIn the app: anything after the loss is disputable. Note the time you noticed and the time you blocked.
- Police report for theftOnline where possible; it takes ten minutes and the bank needs the number.
- Dispute the fraudulent paymentsIn writing to the bank: date, amount, merchant, "not authorised". Refund is due promptly, minus at most the legal excess for payments before you reported.
- Contactless and walletRemove the card from phone wallets and update any subscriptions that were charged to it, or they will fail next month.
📇 All contacts
❓ Frequently asked
How much can I lose?
At most the legal excess (typically up to €50) for unauthorised use before you reported the card, and nothing after — unless the bank proves fraud or gross negligence on your side, such as writing the PIN on the card.
The bank says I must have given the PIN
That is their claim to prove. Ask for it in writing, dispute it, and take it to FINE — Vakuutus- ja rahoitusneuvonta / Pankkilautakunta if they insist.
I lost it abroad
Same steps; block through the app or the international number on your bank's site. A police report from the country you are in is fine for the bank.
📎 Sources
🔎 Common searches
Recognise your own search? The answer above covers all of these.
- “block bank card lost Finland”
- “card stolen who to call”
- “bank card lost liability unauthorised payments”
- “report stolen card police Finland”
- “dispute payments after card stolen”
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