My Apple Pay account is restricted, what can I do?

I’ve used Apple Cash maybe three times in the 15 years I’ve had my iPhone and someone sent me money yesterday. I went to receive it and it said restricted it had me put in my Social Security number which I did correctly and gave me no other option. I called Apple support and I was told that I could not be verified and my account was basically restricted for life with no explanation.

okay so about 2 days ago, my apple pay account recently got permanently disabled and all i did was send my gf $20 and the next day they disabled it. so i called apple support and asked why it was permanently disabled and they said my account went uder “review” and that they found something suspicious but i never did anything for them to do that to me. they never sent me an email stating that they were reviewing my account and told me that they didn’t have to send one. this is not okay Apple, this is how you lose customers, you guys have to fix this because every single review i saw was from this year and every one of them stated that they have the same problem as i do. DO BETTER APPLE.

I’m obviously so late to this but it happened to me where it got restricted, fixed, and suddenly restricted again. My Apple Cash is now restricted INDEFINITELY due to the fact that I’ve tried too many times to prove it’s me. I talked to so many representatives over the course of 2-3 weeks because they all said it’ll be fixed in “24-48 hours” only for me to get restricted again. It’s absolute BS. Talking about how the SSN is wrong or there’s too many accounts tied to it. Like… I only had one account and I only have one SSN. I had thought I miss-keyed my SSN to which the reps said that when I go to set up my Apple Cash again it would ask me to type it in fully… never did. I can’t even use a feature on my phone anymore.

Apple Pay is a service. Is it your Apple Cash account that is restricted? If so, please read below and review the support article I linked below.

>>If your Apple Cash account is restricted

Your account may be restricted if your identity verification fails multiple times, if there are multiple accounts tied to the same social security number, or if there's suspected fraud on the account. If your account is restricted, you can still transfer your Apple Cash balance to your bank or use it to make purchases with Apple Pay. You can't send or receive money, or add money to your account.

If your account is restricted and there are no instructions provided, contact Apple Support.<<

Your activity has probably passed a certain dollar threshold and now federal banking regulations have activated that require Green Dot Bank to verify you identity.

If your Apple Cash account is restricted or locked - Apple Support

You’re welcome to contact an Apple Cash specialist at Green Dot Bank. Apple Cash is a service that’s run by Green Dot Bank. Contact an Apple Cash Specialist at Green Dot Bank by calling (877)-233-8552 or by calling 1-800-MY-APPLE

i understand that but my father sent me $60 and i sent my gf 20 from it. my dad is a hardworking man that slaves away at a steel mill to provide for his family so the money he sent me should be hard earned cash. i’m sorry i said it was apples fault but green dot bank permanently restricting my account is something that i should be able to appeal, that way i can use apple pay again. it sucks but i guess it is what it is…

My Apple cash got restricted AFTER I verified my identity.

[Edited by Moderator]

One thing to understand is that banks are heavily regulated by the federal and state agencies and are routinely audited and inspected to make sure they are in compliance. Banks face heavy fines for activities like money laundering. Just a few days ago TD bank was fined $3 billion for money laundering.

It may not be you that is the issue either. Bank are required by law to Know Their Customers (KYC) and that has recently been extended to know your customers customer. In other words, it may not be you that is the issue, but the funds passing through your account may have been dirty. The $20 you sent and who sent it to you, may be the issue.

Banks also must comply with the Bank Secrecy Act which was tightened by the Patriot Act. Banks and their employees must not talk about the activities of accounts under review. They also don’t notify you you’re being investigated. Investigations don’t work that way. I get it that you don’t like it and you feel it’s unfair, but that is how the system works.

The start of the review is a SAR (Suspicious Activity Report) that gets investigated by FinCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) and the results of the investigation are turned over to the bank. Banks then make a decision on closing accounts and any funds in the accounts. Typically, if there is no wrong doing, the bank will allow any funds to be transferred to another account. If the funds are suspicious, they are turned over to your states unclaimed funds and you can claim them from the state.

The bottom line is Apple is not a bank. They didn’t close your account or have anything to do with the account closing. The bank doesn’t notify Apple or reveal any details about the closing. There is nothing for Apple to fix, everything is working the way it’s supposed to. I understand you’re upset, if you don’t like the system, change it. Talk to your congressman and senator and work to change the laws. But don’t expect Apple to be able to violate the law because it’s the way you want things to work.

Apple Cash is a service that’s administered by Green Dot Bank. Contact an Apple Cash Specialist at Green Dot Bank by calling (877)-233-8552.

https://applecash.greendot.com/termsconditions/

It’s not Apple Pay that is restricted, it’s your Apple Cash account. Please review the support article I linked to below.

If your Apple Cash account is restricted or locked

Apple Cash is a service that’s administered by Green Dot Bank. Contact an Apple Cash Specialist at Green Dot Bank by calling (877)-233-8552 or by calling 1-800-MY-APPLE

https://applecash.greendot.com/termsconditions/

Did you read any of the other comments in the thread you posted in? The issue may not be you, but the person or people that have sent you funds.

It’s also possible your social security number is compromised and is being used for suspicious or illegal activities. There are multiple possibilities. You could be the victim of identity theft.

You can follow up to a small degree by contacting an Apple Cash Specialist at Green Dot Bank. Apple Cash is a service that’s administered by Green Dot Bank. Contact an Apple Cash Specialist at Green Dot Bank by calling (877)-233-8552 or by calling 1-800-MY-APPLE

https://applecash.greendot.com/termsconditions/

Please review the support article I linked to below.

If your Apple Cash account is restricted or locked

In many cases it’s a mismatch in information you provided. A common mistake is an error in or old address given. Spelling of a name or lack of using full name or using a nickname that doesn’t appear on other sources such as social security registry. There dozens of possible reason. It usually takes a week or two for the bank to compete their investigation.

Apple Cash is a service that’s administered by Green Dot Bank. Contact an Apple Cash Specialist at Green Dot Bank by calling (877)-233-8552 or by calling 1-800-MY-APPLE

https://applecash.greendot.com/termsconditions/

Did you read any of the other comments in the thread you posted in? The issue may not be you, but the person or people that have sent you funds.

It’s also possible your social security number is compromised and is being used for suspicious or illegal activities. There are multiple possibilities. You could be the victim of identity theft.

You can follow up to a small degree by contacting an Apple Cash Specialist at Green Dot Bank. Apple Cash is a service that’s administered by Green Dot Bank. Contact an Apple Cash Specialist at Green Dot Bank by calling (877)-233-8552 or by calling 1-800-MY-APPLE

https://applecash.greendot.com/termsconditions/

It’s a form of money laundering as defined by US banking regulations. The algorithm detected the funds moving between accounts and the pattern fit. Many times launderers do a small test, and then do a large transfer.

Apple Cash is a service that’s administered by Green Dot Bank. Contact an Apple Cash Specialist at Green Dot Bank by calling (877)-233-8552.

https://applecash.greendot.com/termsconditions/

The support team that supports Apple Cash are employees of Green Dot Bank, not Apple. Green Dot Bank services and administers Apple Cash. Apple is not a bank and cannot perform banking functions.

The employees you’re referring to are trained. The screen they are looking at shows nothing that has information about your situation. There is no supervisor or higher level support person they can transfer you to that have the information you want.

Banks are forced to reveal nothing to the account holder by the Bank Secrecy Act. Literally, they are prevented by law from revealing the details of your account.

Banks are required to file a Suspicious Activity Report when your account shows areas of concern. The SAR is filed with FinCEN, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a division of the US Treasury Department. FinCEN delivers their findings and the bank takes action, as required by Federal regulations.

https://applecash.greendot.com/termsconditions/

You violated the terms and conditions and the bank no longer wants you as a customer. Your activities present too much risk.

This is not Apple Support. Apple Support Communities is made up of fellow Apple users etc. Apple hosts the community but not actively participate or review content except for moderation purposes.

I have 35 years working in various financial fields and friends and contacts in multiple financial industries. I know how this stuff works and I know how it’s supposed to work. I also know how bank personnel are trained to handle these situations. This is a very sensitive subject and bank employees get fired for saying things like I have above. The bank Secrecy Act is very specific about what information is disseminated. Employees follow a script and cannot deviate. Apple employees have no clue about this except at very high levels, but Green Dot is prohibited from sharing any information about this with Apple or anyone else.

You reached a threshold of very near $500 of cumulatively sending and receiving of funds. Federal Banking laws require that the bank positively identify you. No exceptions. These laws are referred to as KYC or Know Your Customer regulations.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Know_your_customer

No one here or at Apple will know specifically what the issue is. But if I had to guess, there are one or more accounts that are already using your Social Security Number.

Apple is not a bank. Apple Cash is a service that’s administered by Green Dot Bank. Contact an Apple Cash Specialist at Green Dot Bank by calling (877)-233-8552.

https://applecash.greendot.com/termsconditions/

Green Dot probably won’t be able to help much, but it’s your first place to contact and they may be able to share some information with you.,