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'Kafkaesque': bank blocks cash transfer, saying it could be an AI scam

Starling’s fraud team repeatedly refused to allow UK man to send £12,800 to friend in Austria, then froze account

An Edinburgh academic has accused Starling bank’s fraud team of behaving like officers in a police state after they repeatedly refused to allow him to send a €15,000 (£12,800) payment to a friend in Austria, then froze his account when he complained about their “absurd demands”. When he told the bank that he considered its demands a gross invasion of both his and his friend’s privacy (and likely data rules) and totally disproportionate in the circumstances, he says it still refused to transfer the money. “I completely understand that banks have a duty to vet payments for money laundering and scamming, but I feel the demand to share personal correspondence to prove that someone I say is my friend smacks more of the Stasi than due diligence.”

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