Green Dot Bank: Apple Cash Restriction - no recourse

I’d feel the same way if this happened to me. But it has nothing to do with Apple. Apple has no knowledge of the incident and just like you, will never know the cause. Every bank, big and small, in the country closes accounts on a daily basis. Every bank also has terms & conditions that state the same provisions for closing accounts.

The best thing to do is pick another bank that provides a similar service. The most popular are Cash App, Venmo, PayPal and Zelle. I use all but Zelle because my grandchildren have done similar things and there choices are restricted. Best luck to you and your son. 😄

It is not just the Terms of Apple Cash that prevents disclosure of information to you, it is also the law. What they can't tell you is that a SAR (Suspicious Activity Report) may have been filed. This can include a transaction you made or even through a transaction to another party where a SAR had been filed. You may not even know the reason and you will not be told what it is. No bank can disclose any information and can't even confirm if a SAR has been filed. All this is from the Bank Secrecy Act that all banks must follow and there are no exceptions. It may also come from a request of a law enforcement agency, and that can't even be disclosed to you either. I know it does not sound fair, but the same goes for every bank and there are similar cases with all of them. Many are surprised to find out that they can never be told the reason. In all cases they will simply refer to their terms that say they can close an account and they do not have to provide service.

• The unauthorized disclosure of Suspicious Activity Reports is not only a violation of federal criminal law, but it undermines the very purpose for which the suspicious activity reporting system was created - the protection of our financial system through the prevention, detection, and prosecution of financial crimes and terrorist financing.
• The Bank Secrecy Act Advisory Group is committed to continuing to work with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, the federal functional regulatory agencies, law enforcement, and the financial services industry to ensure that the information contained in Suspicious Activity Reports is safeguarded, and that anyone who makes an intentional, unauthorized disclosure of a Suspicious Activity Report is brought to justice, whether that person is inside or outside of the Government.

https://www.fincen.gov/resources/statutes-regulations/guidance/unauthorized-disclosure-suspicious-activity-reports

• SARs are confidential. Any member bank subpoenaed or otherwise requested to disclose a SAR or the information contained in a SAR shall decline to produce the SAR or to provide any information that would disclose that a SAR has been prepared or filed citing this section

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-12/chapter-II/subchapter-A/part-208/subpart-F/section-208.62

• Disclosing a SAR to a customer or failing to file one can lead to severe penalties for both individuals and institutions.

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/suspicious-activity-report.asp

Giving that you now know that you are likely to never know why an account is restricted, or even closed, you can still file a complaint on any financial institution at the CFPB here. That will not result in the answer you are looking for, but did want to let you know that consumers do have some protections against financial institutions.

https://www.consumerfinance.gov/complaint/