Source of funds?

GenX0212

My wife is trying to withdraw a few thousand from a Wealthify savings account ironically to pay into a Wealthify SIPP (can't do it directly as Wealthify only allow one linked bank account across all your accounts).

When withdrawal has been requested Wealthify are asking for proof of where the money came from. It was an ISA with her bank saved up over a number of years. We have told them this and said we can supply statements to back it up.

Question, is this normal? Have never had it with any other bank accounts. Why aren't they questioning the source of fund's when deposited rather than when you want to make a withdrawal- which you usually want to do in a hurry?

Will there be similar nonsense when she eventually wants to start taking money from the Wealthify SIPP?

TheGreenFrog

Usually happens because for whatever reason the anti money laundering checks were not completed when the account was opened.   It’s quite common.

Marcon

GenX0212 said:

My wife is trying to withdraw a few thousand from a Wealthify savings account ironically to pay into a Wealthify SIPP (can't do it directly as Wealthify only allow one linked bank account across all your accounts).

When withdrawal has been requested Wealthify are asking for proof of where the money came from. It was an ISA with her bank saved up over a number of years. We have told them this and said we can supply statements to back it up.

Question, is this normal? Have never had it with any other bank accounts. Why aren't they questioning the source of fund's when deposited rather than when you want to make a withdrawal- which you usually want to do in a hurry?

Will there be similar nonsense when she eventually wants to start taking money from the Wealthify SIPP?

It isn't nonsense, even if it's annoying. AML is getting more stringent the whole time - and rightly so.

dunstonh

Question, is this normal? 

Yes it is.  Often it's done partly electronically.   Sometimes it is manual with questions asked.   Its a risk based process and sometimes the FCA requires some firms to go further than others for a period.

Have never had it with any other bank accounts. 

You would have when you opened the account and if you made large deposits.

Why aren't they questioning the source of fund's when deposited rather than when you want to make a withdrawal- which you usually want to do in a hurry?

AML directives get updated periodically    Earlier ones didn't require anything with withdrawals but later ones did.

GenX0212

Marcon said:

GenX0212 said:

My wife is trying to withdraw a few thousand from a Wealthify savings account ironically to pay into a Wealthify SIPP (can't do it directly as Wealthify only allow one linked bank account across all your accounts).

When withdrawal has been requested Wealthify are asking for proof of where the money came from. It was an ISA with her bank saved up over a number of years. We have told them this and said we can supply statements to back it up.

Question, is this normal? Have never had it with any other bank accounts. Why aren't they questioning the source of fund's when deposited rather than when you want to make a withdrawal- which you usually want to do in a hurry?

Will there be similar nonsense when she eventually wants to start taking money from the Wealthify SIPP?

It isn't nonsense, even if it's annoying. AML is getting more stringent the whole time - and rightly so.

Ok it's an annoyance (very) rather than nonsense. How far back do they want/need to go though? The money has chopped and changed from various different accounts over time chasing interest rates and made somewhat worse by TSB's encouragement of the use of 'Savings pots' (lots of separate sub accounts for different savings purposes which you can open and close in the online app at will). We have traced the money back to April 2023 in the TSB accounts and can probably go even further but it gets increasingly hard to track back through online transactions. Will it not satisfy Wealthify that the money has come from a reputable bank? TSB never had any issues depositing, moving around or withdrawing the money.

The other irony is that my wife is always nagging me why I insist on paper statements for my own accounts and keep them in a filing cupboard!  Online is not always easier...

GenX0212

dunstonh said:

Have never had it with any other bank accounts. 

You would have when you opened the account and if you made large deposits.

The Wealthify savings account was opened with an initial £20k+ transferred from her various TSB savings pots. No questions at all when the initial deposit was made. They are only now asking questions when she wants to withdraw a small amount of the money.

dunstonh

GenX0212 said:

dunstonh said:

Have never had it with any other bank accounts. 

You would have when you opened the account and if you made large deposits.

The Wealthify savings account was opened with an initial £20k+ transferred from her various TSB savings pots. No questions at all when the initial deposit was made. They are only now asking questions when she wants to withdraw a small amount of the money.

What was the time gap between depositing and withdrawing?

Its not only size of the draw but also how long it happened after it was put in there.  Short timecales trigger additional checks.

Officer_Dibble

How is it annoying rather than nonsensical? We've got "barbers", American Candy Shops and Harry Potter wizard emporiums on every high street laundering cash from drugs with very little if anything being done about it. Meanwhile if you've inherited £20k from Great Auntie Edith they're desperate to know everything about it. It's nonsensical.

GenX0212

dunstonh said:

GenX0212 said:

dunstonh said:

Have never had it with any other bank accounts. 

You would have when you opened the account and if you made large deposits.

The Wealthify savings account was opened with an initial £20k+ transferred from her various TSB savings pots. No questions at all when the initial deposit was made. They are only now asking questions when she wants to withdraw a small amount of the money.

What was the time gap between depositing and withdrawing?

It's not only size of the draw but also how long it happened after it was put in there.  Short timecales trigger additional checks.

5 months (November - March)

dunstonh

GenX0212 said:

dunstonh said:

GenX0212 said:

dunstonh said:

Have never had it with any other bank accounts. 

You would have when you opened the account and if you made large deposits.

The Wealthify savings account was opened with an initial £20k+ transferred from her various TSB savings pots. No questions at all when the initial deposit was made. They are only now asking questions when she wants to withdraw a small amount of the money.

What was the time gap between depositing and withdrawing?

It's not only size of the draw but also how long it happened after it was put in there.  Short timecales trigger additional checks.

5 months (November - March)

That would typically trigger enhanced checks.

TheGreenFrog

It does seem slightly unusual that they are asking for documentary proof of source of funds.  Are you requesting withdrawal to a bank account different from the one used to deposit the funds?