Constant cash paid into HSBC account - Problem?

ryuuoo

Hi there,

Due to the nature of my job, I get say 3/4 of my wages paid through BACS and then the rest I would normally get in cash.

I bank with HSBC and normally I would keep the cash I got from work at home and just use them for daily expenses like food shopping etc...
But recently people have been burgled and do not want to keep 500-700 pounds cash in my underwear drawer so last month I paid in 500 pounds into my account at HSBC.

A friend mentioned this would trigger money laundering checks on my account if I did it regularly and could cause problems... what do you think?

Can I keep paying the cash into my account monthly? I would never go over 1000... Or should I just keep it at home?

Thanks

bengal-stripe

If it is known at your bank that you get a certain percentage of your wages in cash (maybe as tips), then there shouldn't be any problems.

If you continue, month after months, to pay-in £ 500-700 cash into your account, the bank might have to investigate, maybe not as money laundering, but possibly as "proceeds of crimes". If you can prove that a certain percentage of your salary is paid in cash, there should be no problems.

If the money is dodgy (maybe your employer fails to declare it), I would be very careful.

dr_adidas01

Sadly any amount being deposited outside of your normal account behavior can trigger a banks anti money laundering check, and based on recent threads HSBC are being over zealous on this at the moment due to recent fines they have received because of money laundering.

It maybe wise going into your HSBC branch for them to put some notes on your file to say that you will on occasion be depositing £500 cash in your account. Even thi may not stop them checking.

Though why don't you just get your employer to pay all your wages into your account, thus avoiding the possibility altogether.

ryuuoo

bengal-stripe wrote: »

If it is known at your bank that you get a certain percentage of your wages in cash (maybe as tips), then there shouldn't be any problems.

If you continue, month after months, to pay-in £ 500-700 cash into your account, the bank might have to investigate, maybe not as money laundering, but possibly as "proceeds of crimes". If you can prove that a certain percentage of your salary is paid in cash, there should be no problems.

If the money is dodgy (maybe your employer fails to declare it), I would be very careful.

Thats the thing, I get that money from tips... and over the weeks it does accumulate to about 500... should I tell the bank this (even though I think I should be declaring tips to HMRC) or should I just keep depositing... or keep it at home...?

Lith

utter b0ll0cks i say...

if you pay in £5000 then of course it will trigger something... the limit is 5k.. everyone knows that,

i've paid in over 2000 1500 780 500 200 over a course of 12 months (which is fine)

they only get p!ssed off when you dump in 5k a month or every few months (my friend did it... and BAM his account was frozen and he got calls and letters think he was a drug mule or something (until he proved it was genuine income)

not once have they 'nagged me' at all (they actually did call me to raise my credit limit though lol)

and then i stopped the payment... after 6 months they send another letter saying (why am i not paying in enough ?) - the £500 rule ....

Very silly cant win.

YorkshireBoy

Although not HSBC, I've been paying in exactly £500 cash over the counter every 3 weeks or so for well over 3 years now. Never had any problems with my bank.


I wouldn't worry about it if I was you.

BillJones

ryuuoo wrote: »

(even though I think I should be declaring tips to HMRC)

Yes, you do need to do this.

HHarry

I take the cash I get paid and use it to pay my credit card bill every month. It's been between £500 and £1000 every month for years, and has never been a problem.

Herbalus

If you're worried you could open accounts with other banks and then deposit the cash in different accounts each time. That way you're depositing less in each account.

Or buy a sturdy safe?

henm2

Lith is right. There would be no problem with £500 cash being deposited every month through a HSBC personal account. The trigger level for HSBC questions about cash deposits and withdrawals is much higher than this.

Although if you ever apply for a HSBC personal loan and you want to include that income in the credit assessment then I would explain it then.

jonesMUFCforever

henm2 wrote: »

Lith is right. There would be no problem with £500 cash being deposited every month through a HSBC personal account. The trigger level for HSBC questions about cash deposits and withdrawals is much higher than this.

Although if you ever apply for a HSBC personal loan and you want to include that income in the credit assessment then I would explain it then.

Not so - its all about the bank knowing their customers - for example an unemployed person paying in £500 cash a week would be suspicious would it not at first glance>?