Wells fargo refused to wire transfer my money because "it came from coinbase".

[Anon136]

I went into my local wells fargo branch today to do a wire transfer of funds from my checking account but they refused to wire my money on the grounds that "they have a policy against wiring funds that come from coinbase". Apparently all USD is equal but some USD is more equal than other USD. They said I can still write a check using the money just no wire transfers. Oh thank you massa... Hopefully it's true... I'm attempting to use a check written from wells fargo over to my credit union and then do the wire transfer from there. But of course that's going to take an effing week because the legacy banking system is a god damned disgrace.

I cant be too mad. I knew they were this bad. Part of the reason I invested in crypto so long ago is precisely because I knew how awful they were and I was right and made a lot of money betting against them. If they weren't this terrible I never would have had the success that I have. The last laugh belongs to me.

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[magneto]

I went into my local wells fargo branch today to do a wire transfer of funds from my checking account but they refused to wire my money on the grounds that "they have a policy against wiring funds that come from coinbase". Apparently all USD is equal but some USD is more equal than other USD. They said I can still write a check using the money just no wire transfers. Oh thank you massa... Hopefully it's true... I'm attempting to use a check written from wells fargo over to my credit union and then do the wire transfer from there. But of course that's going to take an effing week because the legacy banking system is a god damned disgrace.

I cant be too mad. I knew they were this bad. Part of the reason I invested in crypto so long ago is precisely because I knew how awful they were and I was right and made a lot of money betting against them. If they weren't this terrible I never would have had the success that I have. The last laugh belongs to me.

Wtf that's crazy... And it shows exactly what the flaws of traditional centralised banking is. Not to go on a rant, but, honestly, if you don't have fungibility in your currency then that currency is just no good.

Why the hell would they limit your ability to wire funds, but not write checks? That doesn't make sense to me. BTW, are you able to withdraw cash from ATMs still? If yes then you can probably avoid the week long wait.

Bitcoin is fungible, and there are cryptos like monero that are even more fungible because there is no tracing of where the funds came from.

Guess the entire fiat sector is scared of cryptos becoming mainstream, though.

[warningsigns]

Strange policy. I'm assuming they want to avoid being used as an intermediary for wires from crypto exchanges. Some banks refuse wires from exchanges and a way to get around it is to use another bank (which accepts such transactions) as a conduit.

Based on this document, wiring out a recently received wire is a red flag:

https://www.ffiec.gov/bsa_aml_infobase/documents/red_flags/deposit_acct.pdf

Which is probably why you were advised to use a check instead.

But the fact that they allow you to write checks instead makes it look like they want to simply inconvenience you. The crazy part is that they control and decide your financial life. You have cleared funds on your account. Why would they restrict you from wiring that money to other banks?  

[Anon136]

Wtf that's crazy... And it shows exactly what the flaws of traditional centralised banking is. Not to go on a rant, but, honestly, if you don't have fungibility in your currency then that currency is just no good.

Why the hell would they limit your ability to wire funds, but not write checks? That doesn't make sense to me. BTW, are you able to withdraw cash from ATMs still? If yes then you can probably avoid the week long wait.

Bitcoin is fungible, and there are cryptos like monero that are even more fungible because there is no tracing of where the funds came from.

Guess the entire fiat sector is scared of cryptos becoming mainstream, though.

Well I haven't actually seen the check clear yet so hopefully I can still write checks. The lady I talked to didn't seem like she was very knowledgeable. She said checks would still work fine but I'm not confident she has any idea what shes talking about.

No I don't think an ATM is going to help. This wire transfer was to pay for a real estate deal. That would take a LONG time 300 dollars at a time.

It's funny. If this really is them reacting to being out competed by the crypto sector, they respond by showing how and why they are being out competed.

But the fact that they allow you to write checks instead makes it look like they want to simply inconvenience you. The crazy part is that they control and decide your financial life. You have cleared funds on your account. Why would they restrict you from wiring that money to other banks?  

I don't know but it just reminds me why what we are doing here is so important.

[alyssa85]

Wells Fargo stopped dealing with Bitfinex, and I guess they are wary of all crypto because the US regulators are investigating Bitfinex for operating without a money processing licence.

I think you are just collateral damage, as a result of Fargo being burnt by Bitfinex, and they're now just sour on all crypto.

This is the reason why people should have more than one bank account. There is always someone who spoils things for others and you never know when banks will say, "I've had enough" and pull the plug. 

[warningsigns]

This wire transfer was to pay for a real estate deal. That would take a LONG time 300 dollars at a time.

So it's hard enough to do a domestic wire transfer from one US bank to another US bank.  So much explaining and justifying about what you want to do with YOUR money. That lording over your personal finances and decisions is a true picture of dominance and power tripping.

Imagine if you wanted to wire that money to a bank OUTSIDE the US. That might be a mission to the moon.

[timerland]

I went into my local wells fargo branch today to do a wire transfer of funds from my checking account but they refused to wire my money on the grounds that "they have a policy against wiring funds that come from coinbase". Apparently all USD is equal but some USD is more equal than other USD. They said I can still write a check using the money just no wire transfers. Oh thank you massa... Hopefully it's true... I'm attempting to use a check written from wells fargo over to my credit union and then do the wire transfer from there. But of course that's going to take an effing week because the legacy banking system is a god damned disgrace.

I cant be too mad. I knew they were this bad. Part of the reason I invested in crypto so long ago is precisely because I knew how awful they were and I was right and made a lot of money betting against them. If they weren't this terrible I never would have had the success that I have. The last laugh belongs to me.

Yeah this sucks. As alyssa said, I think it's got something to do with Bitfinex's issues with Wells Fargo, and now they are just refusing to touch with the crypto ecosystem at all. But is it really effective to limit the account of the recipient? I don't think so.

The legacy banking system is flawed, and this is the prime example of this.

They have the last say on what you can do and what you can't do to your funds. Basically the funds are in your name, but they tell you what you do with it, essentially. That is a huge problem, Wells Fargo is just one of the examples.

[LeGaulois]

It's not happening only in the U.S.A but in Europe as well and so surely worldwide generally speaking. Some banks refuse to send out funds to exchanges and to receive as well. They don't tell you directly they refuse but they send you a letter explaining we are done with you, find another bank asap.