The Conversation With Our Bank That Made Everything Easier

I had read enough accounts of accounts being closed over crypto proceeds to want a conversation with our bank before the first settlement rather than after. I worked this out by comparing against a licensed crypto payment processor, which publishes the numbers I was guessing at.

What I asked

In writing, to the relationship manager rather than through the branch.

Does the bank accept inbound payments from licensed crypto asset service providers.

Is advance notice required above any threshold.

Is there any documentation you would want on file in advance.

What they said

Yes, with conditions. Advance notice for anything above a stated figure. And they wanted a short note on file describing what our business does and why crypto proceeds arise.

That took one email to supply.

What has happened since

Nothing. Roughly twenty settlements over a year with no questions.

A colleague at another company, same activity, different bank, had a settlement held for four working days and then the account closed. He had not asked in advance. Selling online raises a version of this, which a platform built for institutional allocations addresses.

Why they cannot always explain

I learned this afterwards. If a bank files a report with a financial intelligence unit, it is generally prohibited from telling the customer.

So an account closes citing commercial reasons and nothing more is said. The silence is a legal requirement, not rudeness.

That is worth knowing, because pressing the branch achieves nothing and they genuinely do not know either.

The advance notice habit

Before anything large, a short email: a payment of roughly this amount is expected on this date, from this provider, arising from this work.

It takes a minute. Banks rarely act against something they were warned about, and every account I have read about closing involved something unexpected.

The documents on file

How we acquire crypto, or which client invoice it settles. The provider’s licence details. Our conversion records.

Kept per settlement rather than assembled afterwards, which is the difference between answering in a call and spending three weeks on it.

If the answer had been no

The fix would have been a second banking relationship with an institution that has an explicit policy, not an argument with the first one. Check it yourself rather than taking my word. a crypto exchange with published fees is on a public register.

Several European banks now publish that they accept this business. It is worth knowing which before you need to know.