Just for posterity, we received this on 6/28/2013. Looks like they actually gave us 60 days.
> Dear [redacted] Inc.
> A review of our records indicates that we are unable to retain your above-referenced account(s) (the "Accounts") at JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (the "Bank").
> The terms and conditions governing the Accounts ("Account Rules") provide that
the Bank may close your Accounts at any time. Although the Account Rules do not require the Bank to provide you with advance notice of the termination of the Accounts, as a courtesy, please be advised that the Accounts will be terminated and closed after the close of business on 08/26/2013. Any items presented for
payment on the Accounts and not paid prior to termination will be returned unpaid. If the Accounts were covered by Overdraft Protection, as that term is defined in the Account Rules, such Overdraft Protection will terminate with respect to the Accounts on the Termination Date.
> Please do not deposit checks to the Accounts within five (5) business days of the Termination Date or any earlier date that you close the Accounts. Please arrange to cause any Automated Clearing House or ACH deposits or transfers to the Accounts to be terminated prior to closure. Provided that no checks have been deposited to your Accounts within the five (5) business day period before the Accounts are closed and no deposits of any kind have been made to your Accounts within a two (2) business day period before such closure, upon closure the Bank will, at your risk, mail to you at the address set forth above a check for the balance of your Accounts, less any service charges assessed to the Accounts. If deposits are made to the Accounts prior to closure inconsistent with the foregoing, the Bank will mail your check as soon as reasonably possible following closure of the Accounts. If you wish to make other arrangements for receipt of any funds remaining in the Accounts or if you have questions, please contact 1-877-691-8086 OPTION-NUMBER-1.
> Notwithstanding the Bank's intent to allow the Accounts to remain open until as set forth above, the Bank reserves the right to close the Accounts earlier, at any time, for any reason, without notice.
did you retype this? Assuming not, I just noticed they made the "if" -> "fi" typo twice and in two different ways -- interesting that what amounts to boilerplate can have that stuff get through.
> the Bank may close your Accounts at any time...the Account Rules do not require the Bank to provide you with advance notice of the termination of the Accounts
I assume most of the big banks probably have similar language, which would be a huge red flag to me for a small business account. But what about banks like Mercury Bank, mentioned in the article as being more supportive of small businesses? Do their terms of service provide at least some kind of guarantee about due process if the bank has a question about your account?
"A financial institution is not allowed to inform a business or consumer that a SAR is being filed, and all the reports mandated by the BSA are exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act."
Roughly, if you deposit more than 10K USD in cash, they will need to file this form with the OCC. And, a bunch of other activities qualify. There is no guarantee that this will result in account closure, not does it directly indicate illegal activity. This seems to be a myth online. In the industry, the SAR is regarded as a "get of jail free card" for poorly staffed compliance departments. "When in doubt, file a SAR!", then the bank cannot be so easily sanctioned for allowing illicit activities.
If a bank suspects you of money laundering, they cannot discuss it with you. A bank employee could go to federal prison just for leaking the existence of a suspicious activity report (SAR).
So, the guy who rushes up and parks his car right by yours in the otherwise spacious bank parking lot to block yours from view, the fellow wearing a mask, hat and dark glasses who's sporting a "Suspicious Person Here" flashing Caution button on his Tshirt, is he going to cause trouble for the bank's opinion of you?
But this is bullshit though? if they indeed didn't want you to know of the SAR they would have not closed the account and let you build more of a case to arrest you
Most SARs are innocuous, the feds aren’t going to run a sting operation every time someone is a little too suspicious for a compliance department to touch.
> In the U.S., SARs gather up in piles at the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Most are write-once read-never. The dominant way they are actually used is that, when someone comes under criminal suspicion for other reasons, law enforcement runs their name through FinCEN. That will, some of the time, turn up sufficient threads about their money laundering to allow investigators to send letters to the relevant financial institutions to get full account histories.
> Dear [redacted] Inc.
> A review of our records indicates that we are unable to retain your above-referenced account(s) (the "Accounts") at JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. (the "Bank").
> The terms and conditions governing the Accounts ("Account Rules") provide that the Bank may close your Accounts at any time. Although the Account Rules do not require the Bank to provide you with advance notice of the termination of the Accounts, as a courtesy, please be advised that the Accounts will be terminated and closed after the close of business on 08/26/2013. Any items presented for payment on the Accounts and not paid prior to termination will be returned unpaid. If the Accounts were covered by Overdraft Protection, as that term is defined in the Account Rules, such Overdraft Protection will terminate with respect to the Accounts on the Termination Date.
> Please do not deposit checks to the Accounts within five (5) business days of the Termination Date or any earlier date that you close the Accounts. Please arrange to cause any Automated Clearing House or ACH deposits or transfers to the Accounts to be terminated prior to closure. Provided that no checks have been deposited to your Accounts within the five (5) business day period before the Accounts are closed and no deposits of any kind have been made to your Accounts within a two (2) business day period before such closure, upon closure the Bank will, at your risk, mail to you at the address set forth above a check for the balance of your Accounts, less any service charges assessed to the Accounts. If deposits are made to the Accounts prior to closure inconsistent with the foregoing, the Bank will mail your check as soon as reasonably possible following closure of the Accounts. If you wish to make other arrangements for receipt of any funds remaining in the Accounts or if you have questions, please contact 1-877-691-8086 OPTION-NUMBER-1.
> Notwithstanding the Bank's intent to allow the Accounts to remain open until as set forth above, the Bank reserves the right to close the Accounts earlier, at any time, for any reason, without notice.
> Sincerely,
> Chase Operating Loss Prevention