Closing bank accounts in Rhode Island appears to be more complex than many anticipate. Reports indicate that some customers have been denied closure requests, even after expressing concerns about the bank’s management of their funds.
A video posted on Instagram showed some women inside a bank as they asked a staff member for help closing their account. “There’s no one here that we can talk to?” they questioned, to which he responded, saying, “Nope.”
The male staff then asked the group, “Are you guys here on business?” To which they answered, “We have accounts here, all of us have accounts here, and we’re excited to close them,” the woman tried to explain, adding that they were ready to close them unless Citizens Bank changed its policies.
“Yeah, funding private prisons that imprison children and families,” they stated as their reason. However, despite their displeasure as customers, the bank staff seemed unbothered and began threatening them to leave. “Alright, folks, I think it’s time to go,” he cruelly told them. Even when one of the women argued that she had an account with the bank, the man maintained his stance, further threatening to call the police on them, regardless of whether they were pleased with the service or not.
The video’s caption provided additional context, stating that Citizens Bank helps finance the expansion of ICE detention operations — which prompted the decision to close their accounts. It further alleged that, over the past two years, Citizens Bank has arranged approximately $2.5 billion in financing for GEO Group and CoreCivic, the two largest companies operating ICE detention centers.
While the bank might have chosen not to close the accounts of its customers, pressure has been mounting elsewhere online. The comments section quickly became heated as people shared their reactions. “Here’s a prime example of ‘How to destroy a business in record time,’” someone remarked. Another person fired back, “The fact that he is refusing to close a customer’s account is withholding their money from them, and they should have called the police on that man.”
Another clearly stated, “That dude’s ‘Time to go ladies’ just caused 15,000 X more Citizens’ accounts closed.” A user tried to paint another scenario, writing, “& that’s a group of White women … imagine if they were Brown or Black.” Someone else pointed out what they saw as poor customer service, writing, “shameful treatment of customers.” One user emphatically stated, “Banks have always turned a blind eye to morality in favor of making money. Remember, they used to supply much of the funding for the slavery industry.”
This comment read, “Damn, Citizens is on the wrong side of history,” while another netizen threatened, “@citizensbank, you might need to remove your name off that ballpark if this is how you treat your account holders.” Another user wrote, “@citizensbank Refusing to give ppl their own goddamned money?!? Get ready for the Target boycott treatment.” A similar threat from an aggrieved netizen read, “@citizensbank have fun going bankrupt, we’re going to eat you.”
It is unquestionably the customer’s right to close their bank accounts at their discretion. Therefore, the incident in Rhode Island is particularly troubling.
