Banks have the authority to freeze your account, and you don’t need to be a terrorist, a thief, or a money launderer for them to do so. Banks, as we all know, are charged with receiving and processing financial transactions. Aside from doing what they need to do as a financial institution, they are also tasked with monitoring transactions and freezing accounts suspected to be financing illegal or unscrupulous activities. When a bank freezes your account, you will definitely want to know how long it’ll take for the act to be reversed.
It takes a bank about 10 days to unfreeze a frozen bank account. This timeframe varies depending on the circumstances surrounding the act, your bank, and the severity of the account.
A bank has the right to freeze your account anytime and any day without your permission. This doesn’t mean bank freeze peoples account for fun. A bank would take this step if they noticed unusual transfers from your account. These transfers may be red flags for activities like money laundering, terrorism funding, etc. A bank can also freeze your account if you are found responsible for offering bad checks or if you have unpaid debts via creditors. Has your account be frozen, and you want to know when it will be open? This article is for you.
How Long Does It Takes To Reverse a Debit Card Transaction?
How Long Does It Takes To Unfreeze a Bank Account?
As we all know, banks are financial institutions saddled with the responsibility of keeping our money safe, offering us loans, and providing other financial services to us. Aside from these common tasks, banks are also charged with scrutinizing all transactions that pass through them. And in the event that they come across a suspicious transaction, no matter how small, they have the right to temporarily shut your account and commence an investigation.
Of course, you may find this act cruel. Why should a bank shut your bank because a business partner sent a huge amount of money to your account? Or why should a bank shut your bank because you received money which unknown to you was from criminal activity? You see, banks are stringent when it comes to temporally shutting customers account. And this is because if anything should go wrong, they’ll be held responsible.
For instance, if a terrorist act was financed via a bank’s customer, the bank will be held responsible for failing to notice the irregular transfer and stopping it from reaching its destination. There are other reasons why banks block individual’s account, and one of them is to protect you, their customer. Sometimes, a bank may freeze your account for a minor reason; it is a standard procedure or a measure designed to ensure that illegal activities aren’t financed using their services.
Banks don’t always tell individual before they go ahead to block their account. One minute you are at the mall happily shopping for dinner, and the next minute your debit card is being declined because your account has been blocked. Of course, it is a painful feeling, especially when you aren’t told beforehand. However, don’t you think if you were told earlier, you’ll clear the money in the account and probably close it, thus hampering the bank’s investigation?’
Remember, when you opened your checking or saving account, you signed a customer agreement, and banks usually state in these agreements that they can block ( temporarily or permanently) your account at any time, for any or no reasons. If you would like to confirm this, you can check a copy of your customer agreement when you opened your bank.
So, knowing that a bank has every right to close your bank, even if they have no proof that it was used to conduct criminal activity, I think it’s high time we look at how long it takes to unblock a bank account that has been frozen.
Generally, it takes around 10 days for a bank to unfreeze a frozen account. The timeframe may e lesser than 10 days in some circumstances, or it could be more.
The time it takes to unblock a frozen account varies, and it depends on factors like:
- The bank and its policy
- The severity of the case
- The circumstances surrounding the freeze
Banks end up freezing the individual’s bank account for the following reasons:
- For your security
- Unpaid debts
- Illegal activities like money laundering, fraud, terrorism financing, etc.
- For administrative reasons
- Bad checks
After freezing your account, the bank will carry out a thorough investigation to get a clearer understanding of the issue and determine if you are guilty or not. If the transaction is clean, your bank account will be unblocked. However, this will happen after the conclusion of the investigation, which can take days or weeks. If unfortunately, you are found to be guilty of money laundering or other serious crimes, your account will be closed completely, and the money in it, regardless of the amount, may be confiscated.
The best way to ensure that your account doesn’t get blocked is to avoid transacting with shady individuals. Always mind who you accepts funds from and ensure you report any unusual activity on your account to your bank.
How To Know if Debit Card Is Cancelled?
What Happens When a Bank Freezes Your Account?
Your bank can block your account if they notice any transaction that raises a red flag. And mind you, your bank won’t tell you before they shut your account temporarily. You’ll only be notified after they block your account, so you won’t have the opportunity to tamper with the funds in it. When your account gets frozen, what happens next?
When a bank freezes your account, you won’t be able to withdraw the fund from the account; neither would you be able to make debit transactions, purchases, or transfers. However, you may be able to make deposits, including transfers into the account.
A blocked bank account is almost as good as useless. What use is an account when you cannot withdraw the funds in it? Even if you decide to deposit money in the account, the funds will be stuck with others. To unfreeze the account, you’ll have to visit your bank and figure out why your account was blocked. Afterwards, you must try and work with them to resolve the issue.
