Hsbc bank blocked my account overnight

penners324

Sounds like an AML check on those payments.

Jhorrn

penners324 said:

It's a bank rule, every bank has the rule in their T&Cs, including HSBC. It's also good governance practice to have a different business account.

Considering you can get fee free business accounts these days, why not have one?

HSBC must be keeping the rule as a contingency because they haven't applied it in my case.
Anyways glad to be informed about it all the same.
I won't open any more accounts unless have to, it makes more work.

beenish

penners324 said:

Sounds like an AML check on those payments.

Thanks. Any timeline? Will they contact me? Will I need to give them supporting evidence?  

Ergates

beenish said:

What triggered red flag, they don't know! Its forwarded to Global financial team 

If something triggered an AML check, the front-line staff wouldn't necessarily know, and if they did they can't tell you.

Ergates

Jhorrn said:

penners324 said:

It's a bank rule, every bank has the rule in their T&Cs, including HSBC. It's also good governance practice to have a different business account.

Considering you can get fee free business accounts these days, why not have one?

HSBC must be keeping the rule as a contingency because they haven't applied it in my case.
Anyways glad to be informed about it all the same.
I won't open any more accounts unless have to, it makes more work.

It may depend on factors such as - the amount of transactions you're conducting as a business (which determines how much it costs them to operate your account), and if HSBC also offer a free business account.

The other main risk of conducting business using a personal account, is that it can look like money laundering (irregular large payments coming into and out of your account from different sources).