Why banks are suddenly closing down customer accounts • Hacker News Board

Re: Why banks are suddenly closing down customer accounts

#651

Post by earnesti » Mon, Nov 06, 2023, 1:02 PM UTC

kylebenzle wrote: post #643

fragmede wrote: post #574

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 appropr…

It's actually INCREDIBLY easy. 99% are scam to be ignored, so really just looking at the oldest "coins" works. Basically there is only BTC, BCH, XMR and ETH to choose from (of you cant tell the rest are scams that's on you). Between those 4, BTC is a ponzi scheme for morons that doesn't really work as cash, eth is a hobby security but has equal potential to break or go to $1million. That leave BCH and XMR, the only t…

I pay quite a lot of stuff with BTC, either onchain or lightning network. I don't see BCH or XMR accepted nearly as much.

Re: Why banks are suddenly closing down customer accounts

#652

Post by phpisthebest » Mon, Nov 06, 2023, 1:03 PM UTC

zlg_codes wrote: post #451

phpisthebest wrote: post #253

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>>> It can and does create new money for any spending it deems worth it. Yes, that is called inflation.... how is that working out for everyone that needs food, housing and energy?

Today's inflation was caused by greedy market forces, collusion, and government loan fraud, by those same capitalists. Government spending on useful services, or helping their constituents get by on two one-time $600 payments did not create the current economic climate.

>>Government spending on useful services

So you believe government only ever spends on Useful services? Some how I bet you can point to more than a few things government spends money on you disapprove of and consider to be less than useful

>>helping their constituents get by on two one-time $600 payments did not create the current economic climate.

Nice gas lighting, the reality is the 2 $600 payments make up something on the order of like 1% of covid spending, and I have a problem with all of it. Not just the direct payments.

That said it my be a shock to you that in some ways, to some people, I dont believe the government paid enough, not because I have this false narrative that somehow it is government job to help people "get by" it is not. However it is their responsibility under the 5th and other amendments to the US Constitution to compensate people when they take property. Shutting down the entire economy, barring people from working, and barring people from engaging in "non-essential" commerce should be viewed as a taking and thus require the government to make everyone whole from which they took.

now of course I also believe the government massively over stepped its authority and should have never shut down the economy, and does not have the power to do any of the things it did...

>>collusion, and government loan fraud,

Those are illegal activities, where is your government in prosecuting them? Ohh that is right they do not prosecute crimes anymore I forgot. How is that defund the police movement working out....

Re: Why banks are suddenly closing down customer accounts

#653

Post by pard68 » Mon, Nov 06, 2023, 1:04 PM UTC

ThaDood wrote: post #155

pard68 wrote: post #147

Get an account with a FCU. Not saying it'll solve this out right, but it's nice to be a human and not an account number.

FCU? Friendly Credit Union?

Federal Credit Unions or just credit unions. They're smaller, community banks with a different organizational structure. They're something akin to a co-op, so member-owned.

Re: Why banks are suddenly closing down customer accounts

#654

Post by kcatskcolbdi » Mon, Nov 06, 2023, 1:06 PM UTC

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…

> I want the pendulum to swing the other way. Everybody gets and gets to keep forever an account at the Reserve Bank.

I believe this would result in more instances of funds being frozen when under the suspicion of doing something/being associated with someone doing something illegal.

Just as Social Security was promised to never be used as a national ID, but was ultimately used as an identification mechanism[1], accounts with the Federal Reserve would be sold as a way to have a permanent bank account, but would ultimately be used as a way of implementing financial ruin upon those who choose non-compliance.

Conversely, I also believe crypto serves the same end. There is nothing a financial regulatory body would enjoy more than having every transaction take place on a publicly auditable ledger.

[1]: https://www.nytimes.com/1998/07/26/weekinreview/the-nation-n...

Re: Why banks are suddenly closing down customer accounts

#655

Post by ta1243 » Mon, Nov 06, 2023, 1:06 PM UTC

ArabicBaklava wrote: post #584

manojlds wrote: post #576

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah the story doesn't check out.

Well, sadly you are not the only one that did not believe me. My family, the closest to me, said the same thing, and it took a while to convince them i was not in california to play.. that is after coming back empty handed / degreeless. Please refer to the FAQ from the university i was studying at. #10 to be exact https://sbs.fullerton.edu/about/FAQs.php I was late to pay the tuiton, only because the bank account was…

How long did the bank hold on to your money?

To me that says "talk to us before the deadline if you've got problems paying". What did they say when you said your bank was having problems?

Re: Why banks are suddenly closing down customer accounts

#656

Post by mpalczewski » Mon, Nov 06, 2023, 1:06 PM UTC

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…

A big centralized government bank is not somehow going to be magically better than multiple commercial banks. At best it would be equally bad but more likely it will be worse than the dmv and irs put together. Going to the bank will be like doing your taxes. Maybe it would be so bad that it would solve this problem because people would have cash.

Re: Why banks are suddenly closing down customer accounts

#657

Post by AdamN » Mon, Nov 06, 2023, 1:10 PM UTC

TacticalCoder wrote: post #181

> The goal is to crack down on fraud, terrorism, money laundering, human trafficking and other crimes. Estimated yearly cost of KYC/AML worldwide: $180 bn. Money actually frozen (frozen doesn't even mean it's going to eventually seized): $12 bn. 15x less. Complete, total and utter failure. Basically these KYC/AML rules are profoundly unjust and overwhelmingly only affect honest people who did exactly nothing wrong. T…

$180B/yr is an implausible number - where did you get that?

Re: Why banks are suddenly closing down customer accounts

#658

Post by phpisthebest » Mon, Nov 06, 2023, 1:11 PM UTC

pjc50 wrote: post #554

phpisthebest wrote: post #244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

>>In a world where several thousand people have just been killed by an internationally funded terrorist group,

Actions that have been widely celebrate by the political segment of the population that often aligns with the gun control movement.

Actions that could have been curbed if the people that were attacked where allowed to defend themselves in stead of reliance on state protection that never came, and Israel is now rolling back many of their gun control provisions rightly so...

>>I think scrutiny on groups which are (a) armed and (b) make political statements is probably justified.

I think scrutiny on groups which are armed and make clear threats of violence are justified. "political" statements is a bridge to far from me, that applies to all religions.

If you are in the US, express the desire to violently "decolonize" the US or chant "from the river to the sea" then maybe you should be investigated. If you are in the US and express the desire lynch a racial group then maybe you should be investigated.

The problem here is in the US today only one of those groups is actually being investigate. The other are free the vandalize monuments, and storm the capital with out punishment of any type where by if the other group even happens to stroll near a government building they put in prison for years.

How about some equality under the law for a change? People claim they want that but in reality they dont

Re: Why banks are suddenly closing down customer accounts

#659

Post by ncallaway » Mon, Nov 06, 2023, 1:12 PM UTC

djbusby wrote: post #309

ncallaway wrote: post #256

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> they have no agency in the decision Everyone has agency. “Just following orders” is not an excuse. If someone asks you to implement something that crosses an ethical line for you, you ALWAYS have the agency to refuse. It’s hard, but it’s critical that we never give away our own agency and control of our own actions. You may not be able to stop an implementation from going forward, but you ALWAYS have the ability to…

I'm not going the "following orders" mindset. I'm going with many times a junior contributor can't even see the (bad) outcome.

That’s totally fair. If someone doesn’t have the visibility into the decision, and isn’t aware of harm coming from their actions, then they don’t have a moral responsibility.

Re: Why banks are suddenly closing down customer accounts

#660

Post by phil21 » Mon, Nov 06, 2023, 1:12 PM UTC

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…

I think a lot of folks reading this will immediately be critical and tell you exactly how easy it would have been to solve your problems from spiraling out of control. They are likely largely factually correct.

What is not being said is that many folks are operating at the limits of their executive function. Add something like this to an already stressful period of time to such people, and they simply will not be able to advocate for themselves in an effective manner or make logical decisions in the moment.

I say this from personal experience. Small stuff like this, in particular gatekeeping kafkaesque stuff, absolutely kills my life in a way that is not logical or explainable. It effectively shuts my brain down. I've lost many years of my life due similar issues, where in the end someone else could have handled them as a minor annoyance.