Mercury now like others

[Alexmorgan]

Most banks or EMIs using AI that seems all of them had it from same source or at least have same direction that they agreed internationally to follow it

Which leads to automatically account closing and that is non negotiable thing at all

Means once AI detect a move that already programmed in it then account closing happen

Like my Wise account it immediately shut down once i added a UAE account in it

1-african
2-living in Bahrain
3- added UAE account

Action that done is account closing without any appealing review

Now mercury is going to that direction while before they were using only humans to check one by one for any case that comes from their banking partners

 

[SCHLOSSFINANZ]

and? You pay what you get for

 

[Frankie]

Well, African + Bahrain + UAE account, I don't judge but this is a bunch‌ of red flags right there...

Maybe you will have more luck with more African centric‍ banks like AfrAsia or MCB in Mauritius?

 

[TheCryptoAnt]

very constructive comment‌ brother

 

[alley]

Yeah, this is a textbook example of why AI can be dangerous now, and especially‌ in the future.
It basically means you can hire a bunch of low level staff‍ in third world countries to just click the "Shut Down & Freeze" button without thinking,⁠ and without giving you any real chance to defend yourself or submit a justified objection.⁤

 

[SCHLOSSFINANZ]

yes and its 100% the truth.‌ When you want banking for free face the consequences.

 

[alley]

Unlike many others, I’ve actually had accounts with Wise, Revolut, and Currenxie, all free, as‌ part of my banking portfolio, and they’ve been running smoothly for several years now.
I process around 7 million euros through them annually without issues.

 

[Alexmorgan]

My company is⁠ in US

And because of these red flags seems i need to fix the main⁤ one which is getting another passport from EU

 

[Alexmorgan]

Their AI didnt have any issue with you yet

All this will change within a⁤ second specially wise

 

[Alexmorgan]

When you put‌ millions in bank

They earn money out of it

They use your money to give‍ loans and earn income from it

All respected banks around the world is free when⁠ you reach a level of cash

 

[SCHLOSSFINANZ]

just not true.

 

[HardRJones]

Respectability and risk are nearly synonyms in banking. You need to lower your risk profile,‌ both personal and in source of funds/banking associations. Not everyone has these problems.

Compliance costs,‍ and compliance costs are generally increasing.

 

[Alexmorgan]

The case here that⁠ Mercury was using humans mostly of the time and the AI compliance red flags comes⁤ from their partners

Now you are dealing with 2 layers of AI that chase your⁣ risk profile

Means in next upcoming days a lot will lose their accounts without any⁢ way to appeal

 

[HardRJones]

While that is⁤ true that AI is more rigorous about identifying risk profiles and less able
to apply⁣ individual judgement, the task as always, human or AI, is to minimize your own risk⁢ profile.

Take steps to mitigate a high risk nationality or residence profile, layer your corporate︀ and banking infrastructure, and keep the core pure while you keep the high risk activities︁ at the periphery.

 

[uplana]

How would you do that? Good to explain⁠ to the readers.

 

[alley]

You relocate and you register a company in non high risk considered country. Most‍ European countries are not considered high risk!

 

[Alexmorgan]

Well with all that‍ my company is US LLC
Until now my clients from US, EU

Im not able⁠ to open more markets due to this

If i deal with China or Kazakhstan it⁤ will be so high risk specially if i did while im having the risk profile⁣ i mentioned earlier

 

[drillbill]

I’ve been using Mercury since 2021 for a SaaS business registered in the US, and‌ while it was super smooth in the beginning, I’ve noticed a definite shift lately.

They’ve clearly tightened their onboarding and KYC procedures, probably due to increased regulatory pressure.
A few‍ of my contacts who applied recently (same setup, US LLC, digital services) were either asked⁠ for way more documentation or outright declined without a clear reason.

That said, I still⁤ find Mercury miles ahead of traditional US banks when it comes to UX and support.⁣ The integrations with Stripe, Plaid, and even their virtual cards are solid. But if you’re⁢ in a high risk niche or running something borderline (crypto, dropshipping, etc.), you might start︀ feeling the squeeze just like with any other neo bank these days.

Curious if anyone︁ has had success getting through recently with a fresh setup, or if the bar has︂ shifted completely?

 

[alley]

I see, not much to do. Maybe get in touch with some of the⁠ specialists on OCT? @Gediminas @Fred @MichaelUniq and so forth, there are after all many more.⁤

 

[HardRJones]

My next response is going to be an “effort post”. Until I have that‍ written, the short version is you set up your core company and banking in a⁠ low risk jurisdiction and make yourself a low risk UBO (by whatever means necessary). KYCC/CDD⁤ usually only deals with primary counterparties, so you create those in moderate to low risk⁣ jurisdictions and raise the “respectability” (lower the risk) of (legitimate albeit high risk) funds coming⁢ from high risk jurisdictions through services contracts or other counterparty transactions. You might need more︀ than one layer. Compliance and structure costs are higher. It’s most beneficial if you have︁ multiple revenue streams. Your core structures stay intact and overall flow of funds/revenues is maintained︂ even if a payment processor suspends services to one corporation in a high risk jurisdiction.︃ It doesn’t work for tax evasion or actual money laundering, since nothing is hidden. You︄ are just providing enough separation for financial institution compliance to wash its hands of the︅ problem for your core elements.