Not upheld: account closure and fund retention complaint against Wise Payments Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs P complained that Wise deactivated her account without notice and refused to return her funds. Wise closed the account citing regulatory obligations and retained the funds pending completion of due diligence checks. The ombudsman found that Wise was entitled to close the account immediately under the customer agreement terms and was required by law to conduct the account review and fund retention as part of its regulatory obligations to prevent financial crime and protect persons from financial harm. Although Wise shared confidential information with the ombudsman justifying its actions, it was not obliged to disclose this to Mrs P. The complaint was not upheld.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

Wise was entitled to close the account immediately under the terms of the customer agreement and acted fairly in doing so. As a UK regulated financial business, Wise is required to meet legal and regulatory obligations including protecting persons from financial harm and preventing financial crime, which justified the account review and fund retention. Wise was not obliged to disclose the reasons for closure or provide a timeframe for fund release to Mrs P, though it shared confidential information with the ombudsman that justified its actions.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website