Shut Up And Take My Money! Part 2
My wife and I have separate accounts and use different banks for personal and business purposes. This is for businesses that she owns and that I own. For tax reasons, it’s easier if they are in different banks.
The vast majority of our transactions are done online — credit card acceptance, direct deposits, etc.
One fine day, I sell one of my work vehicles; it’s a business expense. I sell it online and the buyer pays cash. It’s not a lot of money, just $1200.
My wife and both have regular deposits of $1000 to $5000, often multiple times a month, into our business accounts, and then we transfer money to our personal accounts. The accounts are healthy, and there has never been an overdraft or any thoughts of “fraud” or anything. My wife and I BOTH have credit cards at her bank, but only she has a business checking, personal checking, and a savings account.
I decide to make the CASH deposit from the sale of the truck into my wife’s account. I have her debit card, PIN, and deposit slip signed by her, and we share the same last name and address. I am the beneficiary on her accounts, and she on mine.
The bank flatly refuses to accept the money.
Teller: “There might be money laundering going on.”
I leave the bank pissed off. I drive home, get my wife, and drive back to the bank. The same tellers are at the counter. They smile at her and make small talk. They ignore me. My wife asks about the attempted transaction.
Teller: “We were worried about money laundering.”
Right in front of me.
My wife smiles and nods.
Wife: “Can I please speak to the branch manager?
She came out and my wife produced her driver’s license and told her to close ALL the accounts: personal checking, personal savings, business checking, and credit cards. The cards were paid off anyway, and my wife wanted a certified check. Now.
We’re not talking about a game-changer for the bank — less than $50,000 — but the backtracking that they did to try to keep the accounts was laughable!
In the end, about ninety minutes later, we walked out of the bank with cashier’s checks in hand and a very red-in-the-face teller and manager!
We still get emails about reopening accounts now and then.
Related:
Shut Up And Take My Money!