OK, YMMV then.

I think KYBOSH was talking about a very specific condition that you guys started generalizing.

I don't see why you owe an explanation how you pay bills provided that you don't go overboard. If it is true, then nobody but the card holder can make payments to CCCs...in my experience, CCCs don't care who makes the payments on my accounts. I did hear something about one of the CCCs gave hard time about WM BillPay lead to an account review.

Let me clarify that... you dont need to explain yourself to the banks. You will need to explain yourself the IRS. If the banks unilaterally closed all your accounts do you know of any explanation that will get them to open them back up again? Assuming they even bother to ask you for one or are willing to anything you have to say.

My wording may not have been clear but this is what I was alluding to - I didn't mean someone questioning me directly, I meant someone questioning my behavior behind the scenes and then taking some type of negative action.

Any concerns with depositing two $999.30 MOs at my local bank the same day, total $1,999 rounded plus some personal checks? Is there anything to be gained from depositing each MO on a separate day?

And does anyone have conservative advice on the maximum value of MOs that should be deposited in a single personal checking account per month?

Thanks.....

I wouldn't worry about $2000 in a day, but as to how many per month, that's up to you and how much risk you like to take, and what type of relationship you have with your bank. Best to have multiple bank accounts at different banks to spread it out, not just making deposits at multiple branches.

Might be better to vary the amounts of the MOs. Not just in the last 4 digits, but also in the first digit to stay within the law. That would be Benford's Law, of course.:p

As a former bank teller, a couple money orders a month, or even 1 or 2 a week would not have raised my suspicions.

Now if you were doing strange things immediately trying to cash them - that would have raised a red flag.

Think about it from the bank's perspective. They know you have a checking account, either with them, or with someone else (or at least they assume you do, since they aren't generally giving out rewards cards to the unbanked). If you have a checking account, why aren't you sending them a check?

Certainly, you have a reason for what you're doing, but from their perspective, it looks very hard to see the rationale, and it looks a lot like money laundering.

Bingo. It's the wild, wild world of risk aversion- and by this point, the bank has run through quick flowchart:

1. Are we making money off this customer? Y/N
2. Is there even the potential that this customer may cost us money related to time spent on investigations, responding to subpoenas, etc? Y/N

I think you can see how this plays out... It's easiest to invite you to close your accounts, or they can, citing the universal clause that allows either party to sever the relationship, at anytime, without cause.

So, diversify your portfolio- and don't wager what you aren't willing to lose (i.e. your primary checking account).

Yes, b/c there is no Who

As I read this I am wondering the same thing. Would it be less suspicious to use the billpay or MO's?

I would imagine that the bill pay looks just like a bluebird transaction to the bank.

Does anyone else find this odd? Really your name, DOB and SSN in a folder which ANYONE can get to???? BTW, it's people like you that have caused this hobbie to have so many issues... 12K in MO'a in one month that is not going to cause red flags???? I'm sure it's not one just one CC, but spending 2K on just one card at WM is excess.

$12K in a month? lol. I did that yesterday.