Anti money laundering questions - cant answer some of the questions.

Spikeygran

Hi I hope this is the right place.

I have 2 current accounts etc, both with associated credit cards.   Number 2 is asking for the money laundering personal detail check. All well and good but I cant answer some of the questions (they are predictive)  and some only allow part of the answer.

My pension goes into no 1.  There is a monthly SO set up to cover the main bills which are set up in No 2 and   I send a direct debit over when the credit account 2 balance is due which I pay in full.

Its asking me how much I'm planning to put in to the account monthly, which will be the SO bill payment + whatever is owed on the credit card this month??  

So do I just take a guess at how much I'll spend on the card?  Or add up last years total and divide by 12?  Either way its total guesswork. What happens if I over or under estimate, does it matter??

Its also asking me how the money is paid in, I think I get options of SO, direct debit, internal transfer but I can only select one method.  So it will be either SO or direct debit does it matter which one I pick??

I get the impression that some of the question have been thrown in for their own benefit, but I cant skip any questions or put NA (or dont know) , and I apparently have until the first week in June to complete it or I wont be able to use the account.

Spikeygran

I was feeling so stressed about this earlier, when you get older extra things like this really ruin your day. I was worried that it would affect the account if too little money was going through, but I've checked the t&c and it seems it doesn't.   I had another look later - a cup of tea works wonders lol!  I've completed the online form now. I hope I haven't wasted anyones time x. 

I went with adding the last years cc payments  (which can vary from £0 to high in January (xmas presents) and added it to 12 months of the standing order to give the yearly projection.  Which is going to be completely inaccurate.  We have been going through that phase where stuff in the house is wearing out and needing replacing, last year spent half the amount.

There was a thread from last year where they were being asked for passport etc.  There was nothing like that on  my form.

boingy

Yes, just give them your best estimate and say "SO" for the method. It will be fine. 

DullGreyGuy

Spikeygran said:

Hi I hope this is the right place.

I have 2 current accounts etc, both with associated credit cards.   Number 2 is asking for the money laundering personal detail check. All well and good but I cant answer some of the questions (they are predictive)  and some only allow part of the answer.

My pension goes into no 1.  There is a monthly SO set up to cover the main bills which are set up in No 2 and   I send a direct debit over when the credit account 2 balance is due which I pay in full.

Its asking me how much I'm planning to put in to the account monthly, which will be the SO bill payment + whatever is owed on the credit card this month??  

So do I just take a guess at how much I'll spend on the card?  Or add up last years total and divide by 12?  Either way its total guesswork. What happens if I over or under estimate, does it matter??

Its also asking me how the money is paid in, I think I get options of SO, direct debit, internal transfer but I can only select one method.  So it will be either SO or direct debit does it matter which one I pick??

I get the impression that some of the question have been thrown in for their own benefit, but I cant skip any questions or put NA (or dont know) , and I apparently have until the first week in June to complete it or I wont be able to use the account.

You have two current accounts... are they with the same bank or different banks?

Credit cards arent associated with a current account, I am guessing you mean they are issued by the same bank as the current account or you are paying them via DD from each account?

You can't send a DD over so assume you just mean its a manual Faster Payment from AC1 to AC2 when the CC2's DD is about to be taken from AC2?

Many people have variable pay if they get commission, bonuses, overtime etc so an average over 12 months is a sensible approach. You could put slightly over the average if you wanted to be cautious but AML/KYC checks get heavier the more monies are involved and a 12 month average isnt an unreasonable basis. 

Internal transfer would require you to have AC1 and AC2 with the same bank but it's unclear if thats the case? You appear to transfer the bulk of the monies by SO so again given a single answer you give the most relevant. 

PRAISETHESUN

Best guess is ok. They don't expect people to know their spending down to the exact penny each month and even then, what's to say you intended to do something now when they asked and then you changed your mind down the line.

masonic

Righly or wrongly, I've tended to interpret such questions as an attempt for them to calibrate what might be considered a normal pattern of transactions (for flagging potentially suspicious payments) until such time as you have a history to use.

Spikeygran

I did wonder that.  But really anyones circumstances can change  daily.  

I also wonder how many would have put an overinflated figure worried that the bank would close the account if less was being paid in.  It was enough to make me double check the t&c in case any new restrictions were in place.

Hoenir

For a current account. How much will be paid in would be your salary/wages. 

masonic

Spikeygran said:

I did wonder that.  But really anyones circumstances can change  daily.  

I also wonder how many would have put an overinflated figure worried that the bank would close the account if less was being paid in.  It was enough to make me double check the t&c in case any new restrictions were in place.

People's circumstances do change. In some instances the bank will flag transactions and require information about source of funds, or details of where outward transfers are being sent. If you pay in an unusually large sum of money out of the blue, or start making atypical withdrawals, you should be prepared for this.

In part this is a response to banks being held liable for customer losses and being fined for not spotting instances of money laundering.

I don't think a bank would close an account if you didn't use it as much as you said you would, unless there were minimum pay-in or balance requirements such as you see for accounts with perks.

GeoffTF

Hoenir said:

For a current account. How much will be paid in would be your salary/wages. 

One of my pensions is paid in every month. If I was asked how much money would come in monthly, that would be my answer. The vast bulk of the money coming into my account comes in sporadically from a variety of own accounts. The bank's computer already knows that. Ask a silly question...

oldagetraveller1

Probably not the same, but similar, I opened a Zopa current account last October, by invitation. I received an e-mail from them requesting the source(s) of deposits and how much they would be.

I replied asking if they would send a crystal ball so that I could predict the future. They didn't.

I asked them to close the account, can't be done in the app., and it's still there with a zero balance. Looks like it's similar to staying at the Hotel California where you can check out but never leave.

"For a current account. How much will be paid in would be your salary/wages." Not necessarily, my Co-op (note Co-op, not the thing where chickens hang out!) account is funded from my main account.