Depositing "Larger" Sums of Cash into a UK Current A/C

angryjames

Does anybody have an idea or experience in how to efficiently deposit say £20K in cash (notes only) into a UK bank current a/c? Obviously I can do it in small deposits, but would like to know the best way.
The reason I ask is that I've just been turned away from HSBC trying to deposit only half of that amount. They just don't have the mechanism/system to handle us older folks who have managed to squirrel away cash. I could have lied about the source of the funds, but since I'm not a criminal it's the last thing I'd think of. Had I have lied I would have been able to deposit the money. The clerk even told me what some of the lies were (face palm). It would be nice if there was a better option than lying?!?
An older clerk came over to help and she was kinda laughing and trying to explain to the younger one that some people do keep cash.
Please no lectures on money laundering, I know full well why they demand some checks, the problem is that in all but a tiny minority, the cash is legitimate and they simply cannot handle the majority case. Also no lectures on investment, I have plenty of that. This is just spare cash that I'd like to deposit.
As an aside the irony that it was HSBC made me smile, the company questioned over their dubious involvement in the Panama Papers scandal
James

pbartlett

hsbc are perfectly able to handle deposits of cash of any size - and they do have the processes and systems in place. You may think 20k is a large sum for hsbc to process but it's not

all you have to do when depositing it is satisfy their aml rules.

angryjames

pbartlett said:

hsbc are perfectly able to handle deposits of cash of any size - and they do have the processes and systems in place. You may think 20k is a large sum for hsbc to process but it's not

all you have to do when depositing it is satisfy their aml rules.

Of course they can do it, which is precisely why they were being investigated, but that aside this just begs my original question, how does one do this?

HobgoblinBT

In order to accept the deposit, they, or indeed any bank will want to know the source of funds and your source of wealth.  I suspect that in order to deposit such an amount they will likely want supporting evidence. If you deposit the cash in dribs and drabs, the bank’s transaction monitoring software will likely pick it up which could trigger a risk assessment of your account. There are many posts on this forum of accounts that have been blocked due to them being uncomfortable as to the source of funds of one or more deposits.  

Thrugelmir

Banks are duty bound to report large cash deposits to the money laundering authorities. If you have no documentary evidence. Then you have little choice but to deposit over time / spend the cash when paying your everyday bills. 

Sea_Shell

Find all your statements showing your income going into your account initially, then show them all the ATM withdrawals that have been made to accumulate £20,000.      Or have you been paid cash in hand for many years?    Do you have ANY paperwork trail to show where the money originally came from?

Are all the notes current polymer ones, or are they mainly old paper ones?

Old_Lifer

If the money has been built-up gradually over a long period then most of the notes will probably be  non-polymer  and  I would assume that  an elderly person paying-in a stack of old notes may perhaps not be viewed as that suspicious.   As for drip-feeding, if the amounts were within the declared income when the account  was opened perhaps this too may not be regarded as suspicious,  unless  of course  the account is very old  and with no regular income  credited, 

mgdavid

angryjames said:

Of course they can do it, which is precisely why they were being investigated, but that aside this just begs my original question, how does one do this?

I recently paid in £2500 to a current account via my local sub-post-office. I wasn't asked any questions at all and they didn't bat an eyelid. (it was part payment for a car if anyone is curious).

daveyjp

A single payment of £2.5k won't raise suspicions, especially at a Post Office as they aren't your bank.

Your bank will look for unusual patterns and high amounts.  Deposit £2,500 every day for a couple of weeks and your bank may start investigating.

crumpet_man

I'd pay in smaller amounts at different banks over a period of time. It helps if you have several bank accounts to start with.

xylophone

Are they all BoE polymer notes?

Or previous issues?

Are you able to show how you came by the notes (taken in cash from ATM/taken over the counter/paid in cash for work done)?

Or were these presents of cash hoarded over the years?