Did you open a Chase bank account recently and got your account suspended (or locked up)? It’s most likely due to transferring money into your new Chase account. Learn why ACH funding is creating headaches for Chase customers.
Overview
If you’re reading this, chances are you’ve opened a Chase bank account recently to take advantage of the $500 or $600 account opening bonus, only to get blocked by Chase when you try to access your new accounts.
In order to get part of the bonus, Chase requires you to deposit money into a new savings account. Most people do this by electronically transferring money they have at another bank to Chase.
This is known as an ACH transfer. An ACH transfer is the electronic movement of money between banks through the Automated Clearing House network.
Chase Bank Account Suspensions + Lock Outs
Many people are reporting that they’re getting locked out of their account as soon as they attempt to fund their new Chase accounts via ACH from an external bank.
Chase’s automated system flags it as “suspicious activity” and usually the way to fix this is to call their customer service at 1-800-935-9935. Once you’re on the phone with a call center agent, the rep will either have you make a 3-way call with Chase and the external bank you’re transferring from or to come into a Chase branch with 2 forms of ID in order to verify that the activity is genuinely made by you.
Here’s what eleboson from Reddit experienced:
This problem seems to get triggered for any ACH transfers (electronic transfers). It affects:
- electronic transactions as little as $1,000
- new and old accounts (but accounts less than 30 days old seem to be more of an issue)
- both personal and business accounts
- whether you fund the Chase account through an ACH push or pull (go here to read the difference)
How To Avoid To Avoid Suspensions + Lock Outs
Even though what’s happening makes it a pain, the bank account opening bonuses from Chase are awesome and is still worth doing. Here’s what I recommend to lower your chances of dealing with a suspended account:
Option #1: Check Deposits
Transfer large amounts of money by depositing a check through the Chase mobile app or at a physical Chase branch.
This is probably the best way and only a little less convenient than electronic transfers. There hasn’t been any negative reports with this method.
Option #2: Electronic Transfers (ACH Transfers)
You should always make ACH transfers by PUSHING the funds from the external bank account, not PULLING the funds from it (read the difference here). Although there are reports of pushing issues, the rate is far less than pulling ones.
Even though you’re not pulling the funds, I’d still add the external bank account information to your Chase bank account before you push (so Chase knows it’s your external account).
Related:
The Bottom Line
It’s crazy that Chase’s system to detect potential fraud is so sensitive. This is a big mistake on Chase’s part because it’s completely normal for new accounts to be funded with a transfer from an existing bank that a customer has. Triggering alerts for this causes a really poor customer experience.
