[flagged]
While opening a whole other can of worms of issues. A normal established bank also solves this.
There are many instances of traditional banks seizing the funds of legitimate customers citing KYC/AML reasons as well.
Wise refuses to let us access our $60k AUD
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Re: Wise refuses to let us access our $60k AUD
#82This is a familiar situation. I run a SaaS platform where I sell plugins for WordPress. Recently, my PayPal account was suspended, and a balance of €80,000 was frozen. The stated reason is a violation of the Terms of Service. However, no specific explanation has been provided — neither what rule I allegedly violated, nor how I violated it. I’ve searched through the lengthy documentation, but without clear guidance, t…
I am genuinely surprised to find out that some people leave large sums of money in these types of non-bank services. Why don’t people move the money out? Is it too much trust of the competence of these organisations?
Perhaps because they try to look like banks to their customers.
Paypal even has a banking license where I live. A paypal transfer may or may not be a bank transfer, I don't know, but it has a banking license so I can understand it if people assume that they can trust it like a bank.
Re: Wise refuses to let us access our $60k AUD
#83Are those fintech companies under any financial regulatory authority? If my bank pulls any kind of stuff like that, dropping the magic "I will have to report this to the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority" gets any and all gears unstuck right quick. Because this is absolutely unacceptable, and my local financial regulator agrees (and levies substantial fines accordingly). Might be an EU thing, though.
Some of them like Revolut and N26 are. German federal authority actually forced N26 to limit customer acquisition until they fixed their money laundering issues. Wise is a "payment processor" so it isn't regulated to the same standard.
>Wise is a "payment processor" so it isn't regulated to the same standard.
Which standard?
In the US, the standard in question is "money transmitter", regulated on the state level.
In California, both Revolut and Wise are licensed by DFPI: Wise has MTL (Money Transmitter License) in California, Revolut has a broker license:
Revolut: https://dfpi.ca.gov/search-result-detail/?id=304600
Wise: https://dfpi.ca.gov/regulated_entity/wise-us-inc/
FinCen guidance on the distinction between the to two is not the easiest read, but my takeaway is that both of these companies would be registered FinCen too as MSB's (money service but businesses to
https://www.fincen.gov/resources/statutes-regulations/guidan...
And indeed, here's Wise's MSB registration: https://www.revolut.com/en-US/blog/post/changes-for-revolut-...
Revolut doesn't have on the... because they outsource money handling to an actual bank, FDIC insured and all:
https://www.revolut.com/en-US/blog/post/changes-for-revolut-...
So, doesn't appear like Wise is any less regulated.
Re: Wise refuses to let us access our $60k AUD
#84[flagged]
Yeah just let me buy my coffee while travelling... waiting for confirmation... sorry still waiting. Shit, I missed my flight (who don't accept cryptocurrency)
Valid point for bitcoin, but should be a non issue on other chains like Solana/Cardano or even to an extent Ethereum
Re: Wise refuses to let us access our $60k AUD
#85Earlier quoted context omitted.
Hope you're considering a lawsuit? €80k is no joke.
Paypal lawyers went over this situation thousands of times. If they would have any trouble with it, Paypal's behavior would already be different. AML/KYC and other bank regulations are so ridiculous and vague that it seems perfectly normal according to them to withhold somebody's money for a long time without even providing any explanation.
The most likely reason they don't have trouble with it is that the only consequence if they do get sued is that they have to actually have someone look at the case and release the money. All it costs them is a few minutes of their lawyer's time.
In cases where the victim just gives up, which seems incredibly common, they get to steal the money and they avoid the cost of having to review most cases, so it's obviously still a winning strategy.
Re: Wise refuses to let us access our $60k AUD
#86In banking and money services, some things cannot be handled via the usual support channels. In these cases, it’s often more effective to have your lawyer contact their legal department.
Flaming them publicly before doing that is a) cathartic, b) cheaper than the lawyer and might get them to address the issue, c) the right thing to do because it creates an incentive for companies to act right without the customer needing to hire a lawyer.
Of course, if they don't react to that, then is the time to contact a lawyer.
Re: Wise refuses to let us access our $60k AUD
#87Are those fintech companies under any financial regulatory authority? If my bank pulls any kind of stuff like that, dropping the magic "I will have to report this to the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority" gets any and all gears unstuck right quick. Because this is absolutely unacceptable, and my local financial regulator agrees (and levies substantial fines accordingly). Might be an EU thing, though.
They are and Wise certainly is given how big and integrated they are. The problem is that most of the time they are blocking your account because of regulation, so they have checked that box and covered their a*s.
Well, if they are repeatedly requesting paperwork you've already submitted, the fault is clearly with them - and they are not blocking because of regulations, but because they are incompetent. This won't get them out of being fined.
Re: Wise refuses to let us access our $60k AUD
#88Earlier quoted context omitted.
While opening a whole other can of worms of issues. A normal established bank also solves this.
There are many instances of traditional banks seizing the funds of legitimate customers citing KYC/AML reasons as well.
There are many instances of people losing their whole crypto wallets, without any recourse to reach an institution or through the legal system.
As a business you need the support of the legal system to lessen risk, no sensible business owner is going to depend solely on crypto wallets for making payroll, paying suppliers, or keeping cash flow for expenditures...
Re: Wise refuses to let us access our $60k AUD
#89Is it possible that you used an unusual login pattern? Privacy IP proxy/TOR/VPN? It seems like a false positive from fraud prevention systems, combined with limited resources for manual review on Wise's side.
I don't want to disclose the fraud prevention system that Wise uses, but I'm familiar with how it works, hence my assumption.
Do they use intentionally broken processes designed to frustrate people as an alternative to telling people they're blocked?
It would explain a lot of things. It's also an absolute dick move and should be illegal (but likely isn't yet).