Submitted by vredditor t3_10op84z in personalfinance
I'm currently with Wells Fargo, and am considering opening an Ally bank account. My plan is to transfer a very low 6 figure amount, and have never done anything like this before, but I'm reading horror stories of people getting flagged and frozen accounts. Should I be concerned?
That's why I'm leaving. Mostly though because my savings interest is basically zero!
Oh I was planning on depositing maybe 10k at a time. Just makes me more comfortable. Is that a bad idea?
Just transfer some money after opening the account for the initial deposit. Wait until the paperwork arrives, and signature card signed and returned, and transfer the rest.
Creating many smaller transfers is one way to get flagged.
>Just transfer some money after opening the account for the initial deposit. Wait until the paperwork arrives, and signature card signed and returned, and transfer the rest.
>
>Creating many smaller transfers is one way to get flagged.
DeluxeXL has been around this sub for awhile, I would put great emphasis on his tips.
Yeah bad idea. Like Deluxe said. Open an account. Make an initial deposit. The just transfe the full amount.
There's a difference between having your account frozen and having it reported to the federal government for suspicion.
The former you'd immediately feel. The latter not so much. Most likely you won't be frozen (too many legal hoops for the bank for that).
More likely they'd ask you to explain why you're doing it and how you got the money. And if it's a suspicious explanation or unclear banks are obligated to report the activity to the government and maybe rate you as more risky as a client.
Like another poster said, I'd be more worried about Wells Fargo 😅
Thanks! I've already made the first 5k transfer. I'll wait till it posts, then I'll do the whole thing. Can't wait to close my wells Fargo checking.
There is nothing wrong with what you said because structuring is triggered when people deposit just shy of 10k to avoid the 10k reporting. For what it’s worth I have Wells Fargo checking and ally saving and when I first opened the ally and closed my Wells Fargo savings I transferred 40k +/- with no issues and regularly make 10-15k transfers with no issue
Yes, this is a bad idea.
Yes don't do that. That would be more suspicious and while likely wouldn't get frozen cmwould be more likely
The problem of people getting flagged by banks' risk management system is almost always with the person, either with their personal information, behaviors, or both.
Ally Bank has been around for 100+ years. They are as normal as banks get.
Ally has really been around that long? Were they brick and mortar before moving to all digital?
They used to be GMAC before they rebranded in ~2009
No they haven't been around that long. They were GE financial before (GEs auto loans I believe) then more recently started to become Ally and even .ore recently started to issue more products beyond auto loans and HYSA.
They're a no physical presence bank but as far as digital goes, they're so far behind being a competitive digital bank. CapitalOne is the leadering in digital services.
Ally was not GE Financial, Marcus by Goldman Sachs was. Ally was GMAC, GM's auto loan business.
I’ve never had an issue with Ally, I’ve banned wifi them for 2 years. They’re FDIC insured
You banned them from your wifi. Lighten up on them
LOL I didn’t even notice that typo. *banked with
If you have a long history with WF then consider keeping the checking account with them and using Ally for a savings account or similar product. I've had WF quickly resolve any fraud related issues and I believe my long history with them facilitates that, so I keep them around for the checking account only since checking accounts is where most issues happen.
Thanks, that's exactly my plan. Still use atms and checks.
And it avoids keeping all your money at one bank just in case you are temporarily locked out or some other issue, you still can bank with the other until the issue is resolved.
I also keep a small secondary savings account with PenFed credit union and have a credit card with them, just in case I ever need some type of loan they do place a value on having an established relationship with them.
No, moving money is normal
I had some problems with transfers with ally. So instead I just wrote myself checks and deposited it via the app.
Keep in mind that ally bank has a daily outbound transfer limit of 10k for new customers less 90 days. I believe this is for ACH only and can get around with wires.
Wandering_Lights t1_j6g3d9f wrote
I would be a lot more concerned banking with Wells Fargo. They are known criminals that have been in legal trouble plenty of times.
Transferring money is completely normal and only would raise a red flag if you were structuring the deposits.