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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

#571

Post by autoexec »

ClumsyPilot wrote: post #211
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…

> One way to show that these big banks have "strong controls" is to change parameters for these algorithms imagine if some bank knowingly facilitated money laubdering, and needed to show they gave strong controls. What eould you do? Thats right, you would close 10k minor accounts of random schmucks for 'suspicious activity', report 'job done' to the regulator, and continue your corrupt practices

> imagine if some bank knowingly facilitated money laundering

You won't have to imagine very hard, HSBC was caught laundering money, told they had to strengthen their controls, but ultimately all the Justice Department wanted was a small cut of the action in the form of fines and HSBC has been allowed to continue their corrupt practices even after being caught laundering money again and again (in addition to all kinds of other crimes). It seems like as long as they can pay the fines, banks are basically above the law.

Re: Why banks are suddenly closing down customer accounts

#572

Post by kyc_sucks32 »

kyc_sucks32 wrote: post #570

Lloyds bank did this to me. It took three calls over 3 weeks to customer services to get it reversed - each over 30min. I explicitly asked and was told it was half driven by algorithm and half by people. When it reversed I was basically told it was a bug. My belief is their is some data science team responsible for this. They are ruining people's lives with their false positives. I hope those people read this message…

I wanted to add that though the banks are at fault, I believe the cause is government. This is the exact response one would expect with the KYC regulation. If a customer falls into the "to much effort" category (note not "done something illegal") then I assume they would not be worth the cost of researching for the bank.

Re: Why banks are suddenly closing down customer accounts

#573

Post by realcertify »

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…

Wow, that's so terrible! Cashless society is a real threat.

Re: Why banks are suddenly closing down customer accounts

#574

Post by fragmede »

mcny wrote: post #544
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. I want the pendulum to swing the other way. Everybody gets and gets to keep forever an account at the Reserve Bank. > self-hosted Ethereum wallet I'm sorry. The technology might be fine But I simply do not trust the people involved with cryptocurrency. Not just the scammers such as SBF, I don't trust the "victims" to make wise…

A crypto currency pegged to the dollar won't "go to the moon". If you're looking for that, there's USDT.

Unfortunately, when trying to pick a coin, it's like trying to choose the best programming language. Each coin has its own ins and outs, there isn't one that is the best. They have their own time and place. A lot of people see this and want to use them in inappropriate places, but doesn't mean there aren't appropriate reasons for them, even if they're few and far between.

Re: Why banks are suddenly closing down customer accounts

#575

Post by jdiff »

jancsika wrote: post #141
jdiff wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Crypto has been a scam from the beginning, the only thing that's changed is the public perception after NFTs bombed massively and crypto was once again left without any use case.

It definitely has uses cases. E.g., use it to donate to sci-hub, ... ... It definitely has a use case.

Even that. If it can be done better and easier without crypto, I don't consider it a use case.

Re: Why banks are suddenly closing down customer accounts

#576

Post by manojlds »

ta1243 wrote: post #556
fsflover wrote: post #551

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

Yeah the story doesn't check out.

Re: Why banks are suddenly closing down customer accounts

#579

Post by mattdesl »

seattle_spring wrote: post #460
TheHiddenSun wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

100% agree. Crypto today is the only way how you can take control of your own funds. What use is the money in your Bank account if the ruling political party can label you an ultra-right extremist and retroactively lock all your money down, just because of a single 1$ donation you did to a cause you believed to be right, like Canada did?

No one had their accounts closed in Canada purely based on a donation.

There were a number of reports coming from conservative MPs of this very thing happening. Regardless of the veracity of their claims, the financial systems in place were able and prepared to do this, before the measures were lifted.

> Even a $20 donation to the Freedom Convoy after Feb. 15 could result in the donor’s bank accounts being frozen, a Commons committee heard Tuesday.

https://nationalpost.com/news/politics/even-small-donation-t...

Re: Why banks are suddenly closing down customer accounts

#580

Post by zkid18 »

trompetenaccoun wrote: post #523
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…

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…

Yeah, but most people opt for exchanges and VC-backed wallets instead of dealing with custody. The reality has become even more regulated than banks. I've lost access to my Coinbase account, which I used to facilitate some fiat/crypto transactions, simply because of my nationality (I'm Russian but have been living outside of Russia for a decade). It was right after the 22/02 and the massive sanctions.

I wouldn't say fintech or neobanks are very trustworthy. Wise, a fintech platform, blocked my company's account for four weeks for "further investigation" right after the war as well. This caused me to miss bill payments.

I think the only way to mitigate the risk of a bank taking over your funds is to not store all your money in one account. Now, I have over 20 different accounts.

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