Consumer complaint received 2026-03-09 00:00:00
Product: Checking or savings account — Checking account
Issue: Managing an account — Deposits and withdrawals
Company: Relay Financial (US), Corp.
State: IL

Complaint narrative:
I opened a new company and got a free business bank account opened as part of the deal. The company that did all the paperwork to start my business was XXXX XXXX XXXX and the bank account was opened with their partner Relay Financial XXXX. I deposited the first payment my company received ( not a large deposit, {$1500.00} ) into the new account that was opened with them the same time the company was formed.The cheque was deposited on the XXXX of XXXX. Their compliance team emailed me to say that the cheque could not be deposited until I provided additional information that they claimed they needed form the payee. After some back and forth via email with the compliance team I sent an email instructing them to immediately cancel that deposit on XX/XX/XXXX. I did not get any response from them. On the XXXX of XXXX I got an email from the bank notifying me that the deposit had cleared in my account. This was very surprising because I was told it could not be deposited unless I gave additional info and I had sent instruction to cancel the deposit. I then tried to access the funds so that I could return them to my client as by the time all of this happened he had given me another payment because we were both under the impression that the first cheque had been cancelled. I was unable to access the funds because my account had been frozen. I contacted Relay and logged a formal report on the situation. The compliance team eventually got back to me ( almost a week later ) and informed me that my account would remain frozen until I gave them the additional info that they requested in the begining. At this point, on XX/XX/XXXX I sent an email instructing them to close the account and transfer the funds. The info they were requesting was my clients contact Information, a signed legally binding contract between me and my client and text and email correspondence between us for the works done. This all seemed highly irrelevant and unnecessary for a small painting job I did for my client and I felt that if I had to request each and every client I did work for to provide the same info it would be extremely detrimental to my business. On XX/XX/XXXX I received an email from the compliance team/Bank informing me that the account closure would take up to 45 days before the funds could be released. On the XXXX of XXXX I emailed the compliance team. I got no reply! On the XXXX of XXXX I sent another email asking how long it would take to activate the account once I provided the info required. I got no reply! On the XXXX of XXXX I sent her another email to follow up with that. I got no reply! It has now been over 6 weeks that the funds cleared In my account and I still do not have access to them. I have sent numerous emails, I have called repeatedly. I have had no response from the compliance team and there has been no effort ( never mind urgency ) on their part to rectify this situation. The worst part is that I went online to leave them a review, only to find hundreds of other people with almost the exact same complaint. They take people 's money and then refuse them access to those funds indefinitely for trivial reasons, sometimes months on end and make the account holder jump through all kinds of hoops. Customer service is a joke, you spend hours on hold to get nowhere. My new business account has been frozen along with my funds for more than a month, I asked more than 4 weeks ago how long it would take to activate the account once I provided the info requested. The 45 days stipulated to close the account and return my money has elapsed and nothing has happened. The impact to my business has been catastrophic. This issue has disrupted cash flow, operations, business growth, professional image and I have incurred penalties from late payments and it has negatively impacted my credit score by more than XXXX points. They have effectively converted my money to their property and seem happy to hold it indefinitely to maximize their profits on those funds.

Company response to consumer: Closed with explanation