Not upheld: Account closure without notice complaint against Skrill Limited

Decision detail

Summary

Mrs G complained that Skrill unfairly closed her account without proper explanation or consideration of her circumstances. Skrill closed the account in March 2026 immediately, citing compliance with regulatory and sanctions obligations due to Mrs G residing in Russia. Mrs G was unable to access her account to withdraw her $200+ USD balance and requested a P2P transfer, which Skrill initially could not offer but later indicated might be possible following an April 2026 policy change. The ombudsman found that Skrill's decision to close the account was reasonable and justified by legitimate regulatory concerns regarding international sanctions on Russia, and that the firm was not obliged to provide alternative fund recovery methods at the time of closure.

The Ombudsman's reasoning

Firms have broad discretion in choosing customers provided they do not apply discriminatory criteria. Skrill's decision to close the account was a legitimate commercial decision based on valid regulatory and sanctions compliance concerns. Russia's status as subject to substantive international sanctions since 2022 made it reasonable for Skrill to assess that continuing to provide services to a Russia-based customer posed an unacceptable risk of facilitating transactions that could breach sanctions. The account terms permitted immediate closure, and Skrill provided notice of the reason for closure. The P2P transfer option did not exist when the account was closed, so Skrill cannot be faulted for not offering it at that time.

How this compares

Source

Read the original decision on the Financial Ombudsman Service website