U.S. bank closing all of my deposit accounts because of bitcoins

[Inedible]

the long and short of it is your behavior caused them to believe that you were more of a liability to them than an asset. so they cut you off because its their bank, they can chose to do that.

That would be acceptable if that was made clear before he opened the account.

I.e. ToS: We can cut you off if your activity is suspicious, i.e. if you transfer too much (greater than 10000 in one month)

The "We'll cut you off for any reason at any time just cuz" doesn't feel fair.

[diatonic]

I got the same letter. Like, identical except with my account numbers and more recent dates.

[MerchantMiner]

I got the same letter. Like, identical except with my account numbers and more recent dates.

wow that's some scarey stuff guys , im in the UK and haven't heard of any banks here causing anyone any trouble, could be wrong let me know if i am, i hear alot of news about the FED cracking down on you guys in the usa, i read that Germany is the first country to accept bitcoin!   

[diatonic]

I had some large cash deposits which got me a call from the branch manager. Basically told her I was buying and selling bitcoins. Was told not to buy any more bitcoin from coinbase or they would close my account. Got this letter a couple weeks later.

[MerchantMiner]

I had some large cash deposits which got me a call from the branch manager. Basically told her I was buying and selling bitcoins. Was told not to buy any more bitcoin from coinbase or they would close my account. Got this letter a couple weeks later.

are you in the USA?

[maaku]

The "We'll cut you off for any reason at any time just cuz" doesn't feel fair.

It feels like a dick move because it is. But it's also their business. You try running a business and being told you can't choose who your customers are, and tell me if that's fair.

[Stephen Gornick]

But it's also their business. You try running a business and being told you can't choose who your customers are, and tell me if that's fair.

Ok, sure ... in a free market the banks should be able to say which customers they wish to serve.   And in that free market I can then start a bank next door to compete.

But it isn't a free market.  The banking industry is a regulated monopoly.

As long as I am prohibited by law from providing this competing service, then banks have a responsibility to provide service without discrimination.    Get rid of that law and open the banking industry up to competition .... and I'm fine with the banks restricting access to whichever customers they choose to.

Or better yet, let's start using a payments network and store of value that routes around this regulatory friction.  

[diatonic]

I had some large cash deposits which got me a call from the branch manager. Basically told her I was buying and selling bitcoins. Was told not to buy any more bitcoin from coinbase or they would close my account. Got this letter a couple weeks later.

are you in the USA?

Yep! Boise, Idaho US Bank branch. 10 year old accounts they're closing. Checking & savings.

[MerchantMiner]

I had some large cash deposits which got me a call from the branch manager. Basically told her I was buying and selling bitcoins. Was told not to buy any more bitcoin from coinbase or they would close my account. Got this letter a couple weeks later.

are you in the USA?

Yep! Boise, Idaho US Bank branch. 10 year old accounts they're closing. Checking & savings.

sorry to hear that dude

[nobbynobbynoob]

I got the same letter. Like, identical except with my account numbers and more recent dates.

wow that's some scarey stuff guys , im in the UK and haven't heard of any banks here causing anyone any trouble, could be wrong let me know if i am, i hear alot of news about the FED cracking down on you guys in the usa, i read that Germany is the first country to accept bitcoin!   

Barclays has been hostile to Bitcoin: it froze the accounts of blockchain.info and Mt Gox (but doesn't that feel like so long ago now, 'twas barely a year!).

[Keyser Soze]

It is very common for banks to closely monitor cash deposits/withdrawals, even amounts much lower then required for currency transaction reports (CTRs). Cash transactions (even just a few thousand) on personal accounts or businesses that do not normally deal with cash can easily be considered suspicious in the eyes of the bank. Depending on the bank's policies and procedures, they may inquire more about the transactions or just send you a closure letter. If they do talk to you about the transactions and are not satisfied with the results they may send you a closure letter anyway.

Banks have received significant regulatory pressure in recent years and their risk tolerance for depository accounts has changed greatly. For example, finding a bank that will entertain the idea of opening an account for a money service business (MSB) is very difficult. Even if you are able to, the bank may have a large collateral requirement in addition to the normal MSB requirements.

[HeliKopterBen]

Yep! Boise, Idaho US Bank branch. 10 year old accounts they're closing. Checking & savings.

Do you mind saying which bank.  I may need to open an account with another bank and I want to stay away from bitcoin-hostile banks. 

Maybe we should start a thread identifying bitcoin-hostile and bitcoin-friendly banks.

[HeliKopterBen]

I knew I had seen this somewhere.

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=264679.0

[Marbit]

This is not so surprising. The less you can involve your bank with bitcoins, the better, as a general rule.... 

[Entengro]

That's incredible.  This has been a bad year for exchanges.  Now a bad one for user accounts. 

[kmtan]

woo..how can they do this..

[scarsbergholden]

Wow, I hope this doesn't happen to me. I have used coinbase a few times. 

[JoelKatz]

woo..how can they do this..

Pretty much every business, other than an essential utility, can decide that they no longer wish to do business with you. It can definitely be extremely inconvenient.

[Argwai96]

WOW, i had no idea this was happening to people. i have never involved my bank account with a bitcoin transaction, but i now i know the risks.... 

[plogank]

I quit using banks 30 years ago. The nearest office of my credit union is now a four hour drive away but I use ATMs and a local credit union that's on the credit union network when an ATM won't do the job.