I never expect a lot from banks, like Citibank. I just want them to be a place where I can put my money and then use it to pay for things when I need it. I am perfectly happy talking to an ATM and not a teller. I even prefer to use the online app.

I also have their credit cards for travel expenses (upwards of $10,000 a month) which I always pay off on time. I don’t need to borrow money from the bank for my company. I consider myself an easy business customer.

Unfortunately, it has not always been smooth sailing with Citibank. A month back, they cleared an $8770 check against my account that was not mine. They never called about their mistake. I was the one that found it. To me, this was a big deal and I did not think it could get worse.

I was shocked that after 20 years, Citibank decided one day just to close my account. They had sent me an ominous sounding letter six weeks ago asking for information about my bank activities which seemed very meaningless at the time. After some research, it seems banks want these details to verify the identity of its clients and assessing potential risks of illegal activities.

I sent the information they asked me even though the account had been open for 12 years.  A few weeks later they froze my account without notice. I could not deposit or get money from the ATM machine.  A few days later, they closed it and said they would send me the money I had in it.

I stress that it was done “without notice” because so many times, Citibank will check to see if a bank credit charge is fraudulent by calling or texting. It’s strange that they have my phone number to call me for that, but not for when they close my account!

I immediately went to the branch manager, Shadi who I had known on my visits to the bank. He was sympathetic, but said that this was all being done by a corporate department at the bank called “Know Your Customer” (KYC) Wow, what a misnomer! If they really wanted to know me, they would realize that closing down a my bank account can be devastating for a company. KYC should stand for “Kick Your Customer”!

This is a problem since I have many customers that pay by direct deposit and of course there were outstanding checks and other bill payments. Furthermore, I did not have access to the over $20,000 in this account for 4 days. This “Know Your Customer” (KYC) department should try to operate their business without cash for a week and then they would really get to know my company!

Through a lot of follow up from the branch manager, Shadi, I was able to get my account reopened later that week and my money back from KYC. We never figured out why they closed it since I sent the material they requested previously.

Shadi has the best relationship with me and actually knows my business best. As a result, he should be the one making the decisions, not some anonymous department with a really bad name. Although the local staff worked hard to reopen my account, the policies and remote departments like KYC seem not to care about me as a small business owner.

Banks say they want to help grow my business, but shutting down my accounts without notice is not helpful. Banks services are a commodity.  A stayed at Citibank because of the staff at the local retail branch, but if they have no authority over my accounts, what is the point of having that relationship?