Al Rayan Bank - warning

jicms

A warning to Al Rayan customers who are not aware. The daily limit for withdrawals is $20k per day, weekdays only. You cannot withdraw a larger lump sum.  Closing your account involves writing them a letter stating the account you would like the proceeds deposited into.  How can this be considered secure.  

I opened the account using my UK passport and driving licence yet they state they don’t have evidence of my signature and sent a welcome pack including a signature mandate.  This was either never sent or not received yet my account was opened without.  

I am now abroad and need the proceeds of my account.  Their process involves sending me a signature mandate which I had to request by secure message. This takes a minimum 3-5 working days to read, 3-5 working days to action, unknown time to send me the mandate internationally, posting it back, then 3- 5 working days to action.  

I’m beginning to feel very anxious.  I realise I should never have deposited such large proceeds from the sale of my home in this bank but didn’t feel I could cope with a dozen or so separate savings accounts.  If it helped I would actually return to the UK specifically to withdraw my money but they have no UK branch.  

My secure messages are unread, queuing on the phone for over an hour isn’t unusual and their chat service is non-operational.  The young staff refuse to pass you to a manager or department.  Complaining to the FSA won’t help my situation as their process takes far longer than withdrawing £20k a day over many weeks.

masonic

It's not uncommon for banks to have daily limits for Faster Payments, and definitely something to be aware of when depositing large sums (Al Rayan states its limit on its website). Does the Al Rayan limit also apply to CHAPS payments? Usually CHAPS is not subject to the same limits as personal transactions.

As you've posted in the ISAs section, perhaps this is what you have, and have the option of transferring to a different provider with better limits which could be quicker than withdrawing £20k per day?

born_again

Is this in relation to these 2 threads?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6427416/problems-opening-and-closing-accounts#latest

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6428995/daily-limit-timings-for-withdrawals#latest

masonic

Or this one, in which the first reply warned of the £20k limit for withdrawals:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6384628/home-sale-lump-sum

jicms

I had already deposited when I saw the warning. I didn't realise I could have used CHAPS. Finally made the withdrawal by letter and returning a signature declaration. I've learned my lesson and will carefully check the withdrawal policies of future savings accounts.