Tweet

The Law May Consider Your Business a Bank!

Guest post by: Dovell Bonnett

Article Overview: There’s an interesting post over at Krebs On Security talking about some poor company that is going bankrupt because TD Bank allegedly will not give them their money back after it was stolen out of their account. Now, I wish I could say this concept is totally foreign to me, but unfortunately this isn’t the first time I’ve heard this story. I’m under NDAs not to describe the people involved, or the bank involved, but the important details are nearly identical to this story. Why is this happening?

The Law May Consider Your Business a Bank!

There's an interesting post over at Krebs On Security talking about some poor company that is going bankrupt because TD Bank allegedly will not give them their money back after it was stolen out of their account. Now, I wish I could say this concept is totally foreign to me, but unfortunately this isn't the first time I've heard this story. I'm under NDAs not to describe the people involved, or the bank involved, but the important details are nearly identical to this story. Why is this happening? There is a little known code call the UCC (Uniform Commercial Code) that essentially says that if you are a business and you want to do wire transfers you are essentially to be treated as a bank. You are probably wincing right now, because it's just as stupid as it sounds. Note that this is not true for consumers - but even if your business consists of even one person, you still are treated as a bank. As such, if your company has money wired out of it's account, the bank isn't to be held liable - or at least that's been their argument. This is happening all the time, so why aren't we hearing about it all the time? Well that leads me to the worst part of this story.

The banks have essentially two options if a company takes them to court. They can win the case, or they can lose the case. If they win, that leaves the company in question free to say and do whatever they want (as is the case with TD Bank above). If they loose the case, it essentially creates precedence and can open the bank to class action lawsuits to overturn the UCC. Either way, it's a bad day for the bank. So they opt for the third choice which is to delay the inevitable. They make these poor businesses wait for sometimes years before they will begrudgingly settle for somewhere shy of the full amount. Sometimes companies just give up, and sometimes they take the money and sign the NDAs. Either way, that's a much better outcome than letting something get litigated. So yes, those poor companies are getting the run around, and we don't get to hear about it because at the end of the day they are all signing NDAs.

So, if you run a company, be prepared for the worst when it comes to how the bank is going to treat you if someone steals your money. There don't appear to be any safeguards other than individual contracts you might be able to get your bank to sign and agree to. However, if anyone happens to work for a bank, and can guarantee that money held there will be treated just like physical cash (and reimbursed just like if it is stolen out of the vault), I'm sure companies would flock to you - I know a lot of small businesses that would like to know that their money is safe, and right now, it just isn't with TD Bank and their ilk. In the meantime, I sort of hope some lawyer is salivating at the prospect of a class action suit.

Related Articles
  Is your slogan authenticated by your story?
  Business funding sources for today's business owner...
  Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Approves Conversion of Community Bank into Microfinance Institution (MFI)
  10 Perfect Ways to Make Any Commercial Lender Angry
  How A Simple Question Earned Thousands Of Dollars
  II.C. Other Debt-Creating Financial Flows: TRADE AND CAPITAL FLOWS BETWEEN CHINA AND AFRICA
  You Know What Your Business is Going to Be, Now What? Steps to Open a Business
  Having the Soundest Banks is for Weenies
  Need a Bank Line of Credit Use a Bank Guarantee BG Program
  USE LETTERS OF CREDIT (L/Cs) TO GET FINANCING
  Stop Listening to Disorganised People
  Credit Alliance Group discusses the effects of Cross Collateralization
  How To Get Capital For Your Business
  Business Financing Does Not Have To Be Frustrating
  COMPENSATING BALANCE LOANS FOR BUSINESS/REAL ESTATE
  The National Microfinance Bank of Tanzania helps Bail out the Tanzania Electric Supply Company (Tanesco) with a USD 56million Loan
  The Joy of Survival
  Tips for Raising Financing in a Cold Banking Market
  Streamline Your Accounting: Remote Deposit Capture
  Does my Business need a Revolver ? !

Article Tags: Dovell Bonnett Access Smart, security breach, theft, threat



Related Forum Posts
You can see my Bank statement......... - Hi there, Today we are bombarded with 'Business Opportunities' by the multitude. I believe it is possible to earn a lot through the internet, but it is hard work. Nobody gets it very easy on a long term basis. [b][b]How much notice do people take[/b], [/b]when the Bank Statements are shown as means of 'how credible' their business idea is? Are they always totally true? They look authentic. The whole industry is growing rapidly. What is your experience? Is there any regulation in presenting the 'Bank Statement' or other statements from 'Click Bank' etc ? Kindest Regards Beat "Unlock People's Potentials!"
BDC - [quote="IWDCanada":jib6tqt9]I think if you try to do business in the Maritimes the Business Development Bank of Canada might be able to provide grants.[/quote:jib6tqt9] On that note, does anybody have any experiences with the Business Development Bank of Canada that they would like to share? I have been considering approaching them for a business loan.
Re: BDC - [quote="Jones":255lkmrn][quote="IWDCanada":255lkmrn]I think if you try to do business in the Maritimes the Business Development Bank of Canada might be able to provide grants.[/quote:255lkmrn] On that note, does anybody have any experiences with the Business Development Bank of Canada that they would like to share? I have been considering approaching them for a business loan.[/quote:255lkmrn] I'll be working with the BDC later this month on a few projects. From what i've been told they are really great when it comes to small business. Their loans have a little higher interest but their payment terms are a lot easier to swallow. I can give you a contact if you need.
New Small Business Topic - Hello everyone, I'm on the lookout for new topics to add to my site. We just launched a Franchising section and are planning Human Resources section. Do you have any thoughts for a new section? Here's a list of what we currently have: Angel Investors Branding Bank Loans Business Coaching Business Plan Franchises (New) Insurance Legal Marketing Public Relations Sales Small Biz Loans Venture Capital
Online Payment Methods - I'd like to know what Payment method do entrepreneurs use to process credit cards online? Here at RSC Business Group we have made a decision to go with Paypal in the short term. If we find that we have more than 10 transactions a month then we plan on going with a Bank Processor of Payments. What do you guys use?


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

3 Key Factors For Raising Capital

Anger Solutions at Work: Why Customers Get Angry

How to choose your executive coach -1

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.