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Why banks are suddenly closing down customer accounts

nytimes.com

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Re: Why banks are suddenly closing down customer accounts

#551

Post by fsflover »

robertlagrant wrote: post #546
trompetenaccoun wrote: post #523

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Horrible. I've heard similar stories but this one's the worst by far. This shouldn't be allowed to ever happen again, such sudden closures without warning need to be illegal. The issue is banking is highly regulated but a lot of the regulation is about AML, terrorism screening and such. Not actually protecting customers from abuse but rather the other way around - banks are taking precautions to protect themselves fr…

> There is a solution - not sure if everyone's ready to hear it yet: Decentralized finance Carrying some emergency cash is also a solution for this sort of thing.

It wouldn't solve the OP's problem.

Re: Why banks are suddenly closing down customer accounts

#552

Post by pjc50 »

neonsunset wrote: post #518
ArabicBaklava wrote: post #494

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, this happened in 2017.. fast forward to this account closure effect on my life: I had to go back to my country, without a degree, was not able to land any job. Unfortunately, good places require degrees. Stayed unemployed, hit with chronic depression as anyone would. Lost 4+ years of professional progress. When covid came, i was able to complete my degree online and graduated in 2021, but because all fresh grad…

I wonder if the bank can be sued for this. That's how random bank managers get found in a river, due to policies like these impacting the innocent.

I'm surprised we haven't heard more lawsuits about this in notoriously litigious America. I find it hard to believe that "we can ruin you at any time" is a sustainably fair contract term.

Re: Why banks are suddenly closing down customer accounts

#553

Post by trickstra »

ajhurliman wrote: post #493
JCharante wrote: post #342

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Really? Wise has been reliable for a long time and they've improved the partners they work with in the last year to get much faster transfer times. I've sent around 15-20k usd with wise

Wise was reliable and cheap up until October when they cancelled all the business debit cards and changed all business account/ routing numbers, both with a 2 day heads up. There’s no way to pay any of the bills that require debit/credit cards, so I just had to get a brick and mortar account. Wise said they’re “working hard” on getting to issuing new debit cards, but can’t give any sort of timeline. I’ve moved the ma…

Can you recommend any alternatives?

Re: Why banks are suddenly closing down customer accounts

#554

Post by pjc50 »

phpisthebest wrote: post #244
panarky wrote: post #119

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Chase monitors your political activity This is a big claim. It should have big evidence to back it up.

Just follow any Conservative, Christian, or Gun group and you will see stories of Chase closing accounts for political reasons, Chase is will known for this in many political circles

In a world where several thousand people have just been killed by an internationally funded terrorist group, I think scrutiny on groups which are (a) armed and (b) make political statements is probably justified. And the argument that "Al-Quds Weekend Rifle Club and Prayer Group" isn't allowed while a comparable Christian one is is pure unconstitutional religious discrimination.

Re: Why banks are suddenly closing down customer accounts

#555

Post by bryanrasmussen »

robertlagrant wrote: post #546
trompetenaccoun wrote: post #523

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Horrible. I've heard similar stories but this one's the worst by far. This shouldn't be allowed to ever happen again, such sudden closures without warning need to be illegal. The issue is banking is highly regulated but a lot of the regulation is about AML, terrorism screening and such. Not actually protecting customers from abuse but rather the other way around - banks are taking precautions to protect themselves fr…

> There is a solution - not sure if everyone's ready to hear it yet: Decentralized finance Carrying some emergency cash is also a solution for this sort of thing.

right but how much emergency cash is needed? He had a transfer of 6000 plus whatever else? Should one have 6000 in emergency cash available? Seems excessive.

Anyway lots of countries seem to think they are soon going cashless, so good luck with that.

Re: Why banks are suddenly closing down customer accounts

#556

Post by ta1243 »

fsflover wrote: post #551
robertlagrant wrote: post #546

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> There is a solution - not sure if everyone's ready to hear it yet: Decentralized finance Carrying some emergency cash is also a solution for this sort of thing.

It wouldn't solve the OP's problem.

$200 emergency cash would have allowed him to fill up with gas, and pay for a motel or wherever he was going over the weekend.

Having multiple cards would too (I have a debit card and two credit cards, kept at home, but I don't want to be stuck with no money if my wallet/phone gets stolen)

I have no idea why a university which had received multiple on time payments would suddenly drop someone off the role for paying a few days late (especially with a reasonable excuse like "my bank put my account on hold")

Re: Why banks are suddenly closing down customer accounts

#557

Post by Dudester230602 »

ArabicBaklava wrote: post #494
ArabicBaklava wrote: post #481

Bank of america did this to me, in the same weekend i was moving out. All my stuff was in the car, it was a friday at 3PM and i was in the gas station. I couldn't fill up my gas. Called and they told me to come to the bank with two forms of ID. When I arrived to the bank the fraud department was operating in NY (3hrs ahead) and they were closing, so they told me to come next tuesday (it was a long weekend). I went ho…

Well, this happened in 2017.. fast forward to this account closure effect on my life: I had to go back to my country, without a degree, was not able to land any job. Unfortunately, good places require degrees. Stayed unemployed, hit with chronic depression as anyone would. Lost 4+ years of professional progress. When covid came, i was able to complete my degree online and graduated in 2021, but because all fresh grad…

Let's transition to cashless society, shall we?

Re: Why banks are suddenly closing down customer accounts

#558

Post by pjc50 »

amjnsx wrote: post #528
SrslyJosh wrote: post #368

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, Chuckles.

It's important to point out that the words "cryptocurrency" and "blockchain" aren't mentioned once in the Bitcoin whitepaper.

The phrases "chain of blocks" and "electronic payment system based on cryptographic proof" do appear, though. The shorter coinages came later.

(Hilariously the first google hit did not work, so I went to the second https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/training/annual... - look who's hosting that)

Re: Why banks are suddenly closing down customer accounts

#559

Post by robertlagrant »

zlg_codes wrote: post #433
raincom wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Regulators fined Chase and other big banks for "weak controls". One way to show that these big banks have "strong controls" is to change parameters for these algorithms. Many legitimate transactions fall under structuring, layering, smurfing, laundering. After all, any goal of money laundering is to make their transactions appear "legitimate". Now almost all transactions (except for big businesses and people with few…

Wrt keeping multiple accounts, what is the benefit of that compared to the overhead of monitoring and managing them? Is it just a contingency? Banks in particular have no real reason to give you your money back or respect your privacy. Why would I put my money in an institution that I can't trust?

> Banks in particular have no real reason to give you your money back

Of course they do. If they didn't have a reason, why would they do it?

Re: Why banks are suddenly closing down customer accounts

#560

Post by pjc50 »

svnt wrote: post #236
raincom wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, they sent me a cashier check for a small balance (around $1000) I left, as Chase gave me 45 days heads up for closure. However, for some people, Chase dragged out until after CFPB complaints are filed. The case one should worry about these banks is this: you deposit a $500K check, or you got a wire for $500K; check was cleared on the sender's side. Now Chase/Big Bank holds your funds, saying that this check is f…

If you are moving this much money regularly using these means you will be using a private bank which is a completely different experience. Maybe some people get caught in the transition to wealth before private banking but having moved significant amounts of money a few times, the banks generally do not want to hang onto it against your will.

I don't like saying this, but the Farage fiasco involved a "high touch" personal private bank, Coutts (now a subsidiary of NatWest)
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