Nosy banks

As I have already stated, this matter falls under the jurisdiction of the police and the IRS—not the bank.

vividranger8 said:It’s the Anti-Money Laundering Act plus all those extra federal regulations

I haven't found a single article stating anyone is forced to hand over the mountain of data these banking types demand. You only have to provide the basics for transactions exceeding $35, or if there's actual suspicion regarding money laundering. 🤷

Brian Moore12 said:I haven't found a single article stating anyone is forced to hand over the mountain of data these banking types demand. You only have to provide the basics for transactions exceeding $35, or if there's actual suspicion regarding money laundering. 🤷

Maybe you just haven't seen the specific guidelines from Article 83 that banks are supposed to be following...? I mean, if you're curious, you can always go read the actual law yourself—but hey, if you'd rather just believe that banks are the villains behind everything, that's totally fine by me too!

So, you’re citing the specific statute that dictates how the IRS, the financial inspectors, and Deloitte are supposed to handle this entire process—which, let's be honest, is exactly why they receive a paycheck in the first place—yet you still maintain that the responsibility should fall on the banks? 🙄

Raymond Rivera6 said:I'm not sure how to put this delicately, but I think you're exaggerating. Chase does have KYC questionnaires, but there isn't a single word in there about who you live with or anything regarding children. They might ask about your income, where you work, or the amount of a specific transaction, etc. They could have been updating your basic info, but even then, they don't ask about a spouse or kids—just the standard stuff like address, SSN, etc. Nothing deeply personal. At most, they might ask the reason for closing the account.
It feels like someone is just venting here and maybe embellishing the story to make it sound more dramatic.
Given how much work they have and how much they want to wrap things up smoothly with customers, I highly doubt anyone behind that counter actually cares whether you have kids, if they're in school, or what you had for lunch today. They don't have nothing better to do.

Here, just for the sake of information... this isn't about Citibank, but the issue is identical.
Whose interest is this in, and what right does a BANK have to ask me about my marital status????
How many people are in our household, or whether we live in a house or an apartment? :mad
Oh boy... the best part is, I wasn't even asking for a loan... or any money at all.
I had to go into the bank to open a checking account for my minor son, who just started an internship and is getting paid for his work.
And now I am repeating the question to someone who actually understands this...
WHAT RIGHT DOES ANYONE HAVE TO ASK IF I HAVE A HUSBAND OR NOT, OR IF I WAS MARRIED BUT NOW I'M NOT AND I'M JUST A DIVORCÉE... does that really matter for my son's checking account?🙂
I almost felt like telling them I'm gay, just so they can write it down for the sake of "accurate information."

vividranger8 said:Maybe you just haven't seen the specific guidelines from Article 83 that banks are supposed to be following...? I mean, if you're curious, you can always go read the actual law yourself—but hey, if you'd rather just believe that banks are the villains behind everything, that's totally fine by me too!

What guidelines? Is there an actual link for this, or is it just in your head? I've looked at that article and the entire law you're citing, and honestly, there isn't a single word in there about what we're actually discussing here.

Raymond Rivera6 said:I'm not sure how to put this delicately, but I think you're exaggerating. Chase does have KYC questionnaires, but there isn't a single word in there about who you live with or anything regarding children. They might ask about your income, where you work, or the amount of a specific transaction, etc. They could have been updating your basic info, but even then, they don't ask about a spouse or kids—just the standard stuff like address, SSN, etc. Nothing deeply personal. At most, they might ask the reason for closing the account.
It feels like someone is just venting here and maybe embellishing the story to make it sound more dramatic.
Given how much work they have and how much they want to wrap things up smoothly with customers, I highly doubt anyone behind that counter actually cares whether you have kids, if they're in school, or what you had for lunch today. They don't have nothing better to do.

Here, just for the sake of information... this isn't about Citibank, but the issue is identical. Who benefits from this, and what right does a BANK have to ask about my marital status???? Or how many people are in my household
or whether we live in a house or an apartment?😠kk
Well now... the best part is that I wasn't even applying for a loan... or asking for any money at all. I simply had to go to the bank to open a checking account for my minor son, who just started an internship and is receiving compensation for his work.
And I will repeat the question to someone who actually understands this... WHERE IS THE RIGHT FOR SOMEONE TO ASK IF I HAVE A HUSBAND OR NOT, OR IF I WAS MARRIED BUT NOW I AM A WIDOW OR DIVORCED... as if that matters for my son's checking account.🙂 I felt like just telling them I'm gay and writing that down just to be accurate.

I sent the exact same post by mistake. My apologies.

It’s clearly some kind of massive setup—as soon as the big banks manage to push through a survey like that...

Here’s the breakdown.

hollowmoose21 said:Here’s the breakdown.

To cut to the chase...

If you’re trying to open a new account or move more than $15,000—say, you're buying a car and aren't a customer at the bank you're using—and you refuse to provide ID or explain where the money's coming from, they have to turn you away. Plain and simple.

Even if you're already a long-term client, if you refuse to update your profile info, the bank doesn't necessarily have to dump you immediately. However, if you try to push through transactions over $35 without explaining the purpose, they’ll cut ties. And just like when a new user refuses to play ball, they’ll report it all to FinCEN. This is part of the new Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing directive released by the Federal Reserve this Monday, effective July 1st.

Basically, if banks can't verify updated info on an existing client, they don't strictly have to close the account, but they are supposed to re-evaluate the risk level and take steps to mitigate it until the data is updated.

One banker, who preferred to stay anonymous, mentioned that this grace period might last a few years, maybe until 2017. After that, you either tell them what they need to know or you get the boot.

"It’s not that banks actually want this much data; it’s that the law forces us to ask," one banker told us. "We aren't trying to be bureaucrats. Nowadays, when you open an account, they’ll ask if you’re a resident, your marital status, your spouse's income, where you work, how much you make, and how you plan to use the account—even things like whether you own property. Banks do this to calculate creditworthiness and comply with European Union directives for mortgage holders. Since last July, individuals and companies also have to declare their US tax status." He added that some clients fight the updates, claiming they don't need anonymous accounts since the bank knows who they are, and wondering why the bank needs to know so much anyway...

So that’s the rule, then—transactions up to $100,000, which still leaves me completely stuck ☕
yet apparently I can withdraw a million dollars within a ten-day window 🙂

Eric Newman4 said:To cut to the chase...

If you’re trying to open a new account or move more than $15,000—say, you're buying a car and aren't a customer at the bank you're using—and you refuse to provide ID or explain where the money's coming from, they have to turn you away. Plain and simple.

Even if you're already a long-term client, if you refuse to update your profile info, the bank doesn't necessarily have to dump you immediately. However, if you try to push through transactions over $35 without explaining the purpose, they’ll cut ties. And just like when a new user refuses to play ball, they’ll report it all to FinCEN. This is part of the new Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing directive released by the Federal Reserve this Monday, effective July 1st.

Basically, if banks can't verify updated info on an existing client, they don't strictly have to close the account, but they are supposed to re-evaluate the risk level and take steps to mitigate it until the data is updated.

One banker, who preferred to stay anonymous, mentioned that this grace period might last a few years, maybe until 2017. After that, you either tell them what they need to know or you get the boot.

"It’s not that banks actually want this much data; it’s that the law forces us to ask," one banker told us. "We aren't trying to be bureaucrats. Nowadays, when you open an account, they’ll ask if you’re a resident, your marital status, your spouse's income, where you work, how much you make, and how you plan to use the account—even things like whether you own property. Banks do this to calculate creditworthiness and comply with European Union directives for mortgage holders. Since last July, individuals and companies also have to declare their US tax status." He added that some clients fight the updates, claiming they don't need anonymous accounts since the bank knows who they are, and wondering why the bank needs to know so much anyway...

And I ask again: Which damn law are you talking about?

We aren't making this up, nor do we enjoy acting like bureaucrats. Nowadays, when you open an account at a bank, they'll ask if you're a resident, your marital status, your spouse's income, where you work, how long you've been there, and your salary. They'll ask how you plan to use the account, whether it's strictly for cash transactions and why, and even if you or your spouse own any real estate. Banks do this to calculate creditworthiness and to comply with USA directives regarding clients and mortgage debtors. Furthermore, since last July, individuals and businesses have had to provide data and sign declarations regarding their tax SA status—says this banker, adding that some clients refuse to provide updated information for existing accounts, claiming they don't have anonymous accounts and that since the bank already knows who they are, they see no reason to hand over more data.

My faith won't let me hand over that kind of information to anyone else. 😁

Eric Newman4 said:To cut to the chase...

If you’re trying to open a new account or move more than $15,000—say, you're buying a car and aren't a customer at the bank you're using—and you refuse to provide ID or explain where the money's coming from, they have to turn you away. Plain and simple.

Even if you're already a long-term client, if you refuse to update your profile info, the bank doesn't necessarily have to dump you immediately. However, if you try to push through transactions over $35 without explaining the purpose, they’ll cut ties. And just like when a new user refuses to play ball, they’ll report it all to FinCEN. This is part of the new Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing directive released by the Federal Reserve this Monday, effective July 1st.

Basically, if banks can't verify updated info on an existing client, they don't strictly have to close the account, but they are supposed to re-evaluate the risk level and take steps to mitigate it until the data is updated.

One banker, who preferred to stay anonymous, mentioned that this grace period might last a few years, maybe until 2017. After that, you either tell them what they need to know or you get the boot.

"It’s not that banks actually want this much data; it’s that the law forces us to ask," one banker told us. "We aren't trying to be bureaucrats. Nowadays, when you open an account, they’ll ask if you’re a resident, your marital status, your spouse's income, where you work, how much you make, and how you plan to use the account—even things like whether you own property. Banks do this to calculate creditworthiness and comply with European Union directives for mortgage holders. Since last July, individuals and companies also have to declare their US tax status." He added that some clients fight the updates, claiming they don't need anonymous accounts since the bank knows who they are, and wondering why the bank needs to know so much anyway...

... if the law forces banks to do this, they should just pull the data from the agencies that already have it.
My time is money, though.
Anyone know if banks offer a fee for this kind of info?
Or is it just a private negotiation?
Maybe I'd hand it over for, say, a net amount of $24659 ... not sure if that's taxable, so I wrote it as net.

Brian Moore12 said:And I ask again: Which damn law are you talking about?

We aren't making this up, nor do we enjoy acting like bureaucrats. Nowadays, when you open an account at a bank, they'll ask if you're a resident, your marital status, your spouse's income, where you work, how long you've been there, and your salary. They'll ask how you plan to use the account, whether it's strictly for cash transactions and why, and even if you or your spouse own any real estate. Banks do this to calculate creditworthiness and to comply with USA directives regarding clients and mortgage debtors. Furthermore, since last July, individuals and businesses have had to provide data and sign declarations regarding their tax SA status—says this banker, adding that some clients refuse to provide updated information for existing accounts, claiming they don't have anonymous accounts and that since the bank already knows who they are, they see no reason to hand over more data.

My faith won't let me hand over that kind of information to anyone else. 😁

You've got your faith, and I've got my wife...
What now...
Maybe you'll have to switch religions and I'll have to find a new wife just to keep some banker happy...
Anyone know what to do in a spot like this... hmm... maybe those bankers can just send me a replacement wife from a catalog... but I'm picky, I gotta pick my own and I definitely want a "test drive" first...

Laura Chavez93 said:Moving forward...
edit: I’ve submitted an inquiry to the FEC to see if they actually require me to complete that survey—we shall see how that unfolds...

Well, I finally heard back from the FTC. Their stance is that banks are legally obligated to be transparent about why they are collecting data and under which specific legal framework they operate—not to mention clearly distinguishing between mandatory disclosures and voluntary information.
I am simply dying to go back to the branch next time, only to have them claim all this scrutiny is necessary to prevent terrorism or money laundering... if they have the nerve to imply I’m involved in any of that nonsense, there will be hell to pay. ☕

Look, those three specific questions about America are mandatory—that’s just how the rules work—but everything else? It's totally optional. I honestly don't get why everyone is stressing out over this so much. Just tackle those three requirements, say "I'll pass" on the rest, and you're all set.

Gerald Hill7 said:Look, those three specific questions about America are mandatory—that’s just how the rules work—but everything else? It's totally optional. I honestly don't get why everyone is stressing out over this so much. Just tackle those three requirements, say "I'll pass" on the rest, and you're all set.

Mandatory for who?
Who's actually gonna force me to take this survey?
I mean, sure, they could try... but I'd expect at least 3 elite SWAT officers to show up. Even if I'm just a former high school athlete and haven't stayed in peak shape... I'm still over 220 lbs and 6'5"... hasn't gone soft yet...

Isn't that just completely ridiculous?
They actually think terrorists are going to step forward, admit what they are, and confess they're using their funding to build bombs??🤣

Austin Vaughn3 said:Isn't that just completely ridiculous?
They actually think terrorists are going to step forward, admit what they are, and confess they're using their funding to build bombs??🤣

Maybe they're looking for those super honest terrorists wearing "I'm a terrorist" t-shirts... maybe they'll hook them up with a polygraph... or just dose them with sodium pentothal...