Anytime a bank messes with me or does anything sketchy, I find a new bank. Too many options for nonsense

No previous withdrawals and the deposit into that account was about five months ago for $5000.00.

 

Yeah, no reason at all to ask that question. Unless maybe she was trying to be friendly in her mind.

That account has been active about 1 1/2 years. My withdrawal was for $4000.00. If you get $10K you have to complete IRS paperwork, I am told.

 

I was well under that radar.

That account has been active about 1 1/2 years. My withdrawal was for $4000.00. If you get $10K you have to complete IRS paperwork, I am told.

 

I was well under that radar.

 

There is more to it than that. If you have reason to believe someone is trying to skirt under the AML threshold/rules you still file paperwork.

 

I'm guessing it might have been a bad attempt at being friendly. :idunno:

There is more to it than that. If you have reason to believe someone is trying to skirt under the AML threshold/rules you still file paperwork.

 

I'm guessing it might have been a bad attempt at being friendly. :idunno:

 

Friendly or nosey?

$1,000 shouldn't have raised any flags. I think the general criteria is a withdrawal of $5,000 or more would require a Suspicious Activity Report to FinCEN, but I don't deal with deposit accounts in my role so not positive on that.

If it's my money, why should it matter how much of it I take out at once?

Anytime a bank messes with me or does anything sketchy, I find a new bank. Too many options for nonsense

Changing banks sounds like water torture to me. I've been with the same bank for 16 years, and literally, the thought of changing and all that would come with it, makes my stomach hurt.

 

That said, you (@strongopenyon) handled that situation much nicer than I would have. I either would have told them it was none of their business and give me the cash or close the account (and just bit the bullet, but certainly been aggravated later dealing with all of the hassles that my knee-jerk move would have caused), or I would have gone full-on jerk mode, called the Bank's President, and said here, talk to this joker that you have working for you. I wouldn't have been proud of the latter, but I know I have that move in me. :bag:

All of that for $1,000? Maybe...maybe if it was $10,000 as there are some government reports due on cash transaction of that size.

 

I was treasurer for Ducks Unlimited years ago. Went to deposit over $10,000 cash after one of the events. They make you fill out all kinds of forms.

I recently had the need to withdraw more than $1000 cash from one of my bank accounts. I went into the Chase Bank branch near my place of employment, which is not the branch at which I opened the account nearly two years ago. I identified myself by inserting my debit card chip into the machine as well as providing my Driver's License. I wrote a countercheck for the amount of my withdrawal.

 

Why you would have thought I was asking for a million dollars! The teller asked me if $50 dollar bills would be fine, and I asked for $100's. I did not want a big wad of bills in my pocket. She did provide me with $100 dollar bills, but before she gave them to me, she said she needed approval from her manager. The manager came over and asked me why I was withdrawing so much money, and what I was using the money for. As "none of your business" was on the tip of my tongue, I checked myself and said I needed to make a purchase. She asked why I could not write a check or use a credit card for that purchase. I told her I was not asked questions when I made the deposit into the account, and wondered why all the questions. She informed me it was standard procedure.

 

Is this, in fact, standard procedure at financial institutions? I need to be enlightened by someone who might know the typical protocol at banks these days.

 

I have BSA/AML bank experience, so I'll approach this from both sides. It's possible that the branch employees have never seen you and were simply asking a few innocent questions just to see how you'd respond. They aren't used to seeing your smiling face on a regular basis, so they were doing a little due diligence just to see if your behavior would raise any red flags. I'd always tell my employees that if they found themselves in an unfamiliar/uncomfortable situation, to ask some basic questions to see how the customer responded. Sometimes if an unknown customer acts skittish when asked some innocent questions, there may be something up. I realized they verified your ID, but sometimes tellers are petrified of making costly mistakes due to fraud.

 

The other side of the coin is that you were only withdrawing $1,000 in cash. That's a relatively "small" type of withdrawal compared to some of the withdrawals tellers are used to seeing. That withdrawal amount is nowhere near any BSA/AML cash transaction threshold limit. $3,000+ is where I could see they might ask you a few questions (Google BSA limits if you want to know why). I could see them asking you a few questions if you were cashing a check not drawn off of a Chase customer's account but not for withdrawing your own money from your account. I can certainly see why you'd feel the way you did. You shouldn't have been "put on the stand" to withdraw $1,000 cash from your account.

I have BSA/AML bank experience, so I'll approach this from both sides. It's possible that the branch employees have never seen you and were simply asking a few innocent questions just to see how you'd respond. They aren't used to seeing your smiling face on a regular basis, so they were doing a little due diligence just to see if your behavior would raise any red flags. I'd always tell my employees that if they found themselves in an unfamiliar/uncomfortable situation, to ask some basic questions to see how the customer responded. Sometimes if an unknown customer acts skittish when asked some innocent questions, there may be something up. I realized they verified your ID, but sometimes tellers are petrified of making costly mistakes due to fraud.

 

The other side of the coin is that you were only withdrawing $1,000 in cash. That's a relatively "small" type of withdrawal compared to some of the withdrawals tellers are used to seeing. That withdrawal amount is nowhere near any BSA/AML cash transaction threshold limit. $3,000+ is where I could see they might ask you a few questions (Google BSA limits if you want to know why). I could see them asking you a few questions if you were cashing a check not drawn off of a Chase customer's account but not for withdrawing your own money from your account. I can certainly see why you'd feel the way you did. You shouldn't have been "put on the stand" to withdraw $1,000 cash from your account.

 

You make some good points.

 

I am NOT a regular customer at that branch. I went to the Chase Bank closest to my employment. It was actually a $4000.00 withdrawal, but I was surprised that made a difference. I was always told $10,000+ creates all kinds of hoops to jump.

You make some good points.

 

I am NOT a regular customer at that branch. I went to the Chase Bank closest to my employment. It was actually a $4000.00 withdrawal, but I was surprised that made a difference. I was always told $10,000+ creates all kinds of hoops to jump.

 

10,000 Doesnt create hoops to jump through, just some paperwork you have to fill out. Not a big deal. This isnt a big deal either, just a lack of understanding how the bank has to operate, in today'w world.

As a banker, people have no idea how much scrutiny the industry is under from the CFPB and other entities. One wrong move can lead to extremely significant civil money penalties.

 

It's why community banks are a dying breed. They can't keep up with the compliance demands.

You make some good points.

 

I am NOT a regular customer at that branch. I went to the Chase Bank closest to my employment. It was actually a $4000.00 withdrawal, but I was surprised that made a difference. I was always told $10,000+ creates all kinds of hoops to jump.

 

I must've misread. If it was over $3,000 in cash received, the banker in me understands if they would've asked you a few basic questions. As a consumer, I understand why you'd balk at the idea of a banker questioning your motives. @Hangman makes a good point. Banks are under constant scrutiny, including their BSA/AML program.

 

Ironically, last week, I was looking to buy a cheaper used car for my son. It was being sold by a private seller for $3,000. Before I went to look at the car, I stopped at the bank and withdrew $3,000 in cash (in case I wanted to buy the car on the spot). It turns out that I didn't buy the car and deposited the same $3,000 in cash back to my account. When doing so, I was asked by the teller why I was doing this. I explained my situation and no more questions were asked. I figure that my sequence of a cash withdrawal and deposit of $3,000+ would show up on someone's radar. If so, no worries. I've got nothing to hide.

$1,000 shouldn't have raised any flags. I think the general criteria is a withdrawal of $5,000 or more would require a Suspicious Activity Report to FinCEN, but I don't deal with deposit accounts in my role so not positive on that.

 

I said Suspicious Activity Report, but I meant Currency Transaction Report. And that threshold is typically $10,000+.