Consumer complaint received 2025-08-30 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Problem accessing account
Company: CITIBANK, N.A.
State: NY

Complaint narrative:
I have been a CitiBank customer for XXXX  years and have always had a good relationship with the bank across multiple branches. On Wednesday, [ insert date ], I went to the XXXX XXXX branch to deposit a large check in the XXXX  range. I met with a personal banker who treated me with respect and explained everything clearly. She recommended I open a second savings account to take advantage of a promotion, and together we opened an XXXX account for my children. She explained my funds would be released in increments over the next XXXX days ( earlier than the standard XXXX days, due to my good standing with Citi ). She printed out the release schedule, answered all of my questions, and even discussed investment options. The process was smooth, professional, and free of intrusive questioning. 

On Thursday, the first increment of about {$270.00} cleared and I transferred it without issue. On Friday, about {$6000.00} cleared, which I also transferred as I normally do. Later that day, I attempted to make a {$5000.00} purchase but it was declined. After multiple attempts to resolve this through customer service without success, I realized the issue was that I had reached my daily transaction limit. 

I then went to the XXXX XXXX branch ( XXXX XXXX XXXXXXXX XXXX ). After explaining to the teller that I wanted to withdraw {$5000.00} in cash, he repeatedly stated the amount loudly despite my request for discretion, which was concerning for my safety. He then referred me to a personal banker, XXXX XXXX XXXX. From the start, she was dismissive, did not greet me, and immediately began looking into my account. Instead of helping me resolve the daily limit issue, she accused me of making suspicious transfers between my accounts even though transferring between my own checking and savings has been my normal practice for years. 

When I explained this, she refused to elaborate or resolve the problem. She then began questioning the source of my deposit, openly stating that it was suspicious and suggesting it was unlikely my job would give me that much money. These questions were irrelevant, invasive, and discriminatory. She incorrectly told me that I could not access any of my funds until the entire deposit cleared in my savings account. This was false information, as confirmed later by customer service. 

Her tone and words embarrassed me, made me feel racially profiled, and publicly humiliated me in front of staff and customers. I asked for her card and left. I then called customer service again, verified my identity, and in less than an hour they removed the block, increased my daily limit, and allowed me to complete my purchase. At no point did customer service question the source of my deposit or claim the funds were unavailable confirming that the treatment I experienced at the branch was inappropriate and discriminatory. 

This entire ordeal wasted more than XXXX hours of my day, denied me access to my money, and left me humiliated and disrespected. For XXXX years, CitiBank has trusted me as a customer, but on this day I was treated differently because of assumptions about who I am and how much money I deposited.

Company public response: Company has responded to the consumer and the CFPB and chooses not to provide a public response
Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation