If you've recently searched Relay online, you might have come across some negative reviews. These often talk about account freezes, requests for additional documents, or challenges with customer support. I can understand how reviews like this could make you feel uncertain about choosing Relay as your banking platform, and I want to address them head-on. In this article, I’m going to share some first-ever key datapoints that will bring radical transparency to these negative online comments.
In almost all cases, these reviews come from user experiences relating to our account protection and fraud prevention measures. Some things I’d like to point out:
Most negative reviews are sparked by our fraud prevention measures, which exist to protect our users, and are required of all financial institutions by U.S. law.
Overall, users navigating these moments represent a small fraction of our overall user base.
We’re giving you the full, clear and data-backed picture of our account protection and fraud prevention at Relay because you deserve to understand the actions of your banking provider and feel confident in your choice to bank with them.
Behind these critical reviews, there’s a deeper story to tell. It’s one that—up until now—Relay hasn’t done a great job of explaining. That’s on us. So, I understand why some folks are frustrated and skeptical. When it comes to your business, you’re smart to be cautious in the face of uncertainty. I would be too. Today, I’m going to make this right by giving you the full, clear picture.
I want you to feel comfortable trusting Relay as your business banking platform. It’s one thing for me to just say, regulatory compliance is important to Relay! And while that’s true (and it’s something we’ve always been vocal about), it’s much more meaningful if I actually show you the data that explains our approach to account protection and fraud prevention.
Diving into the bad reviews
Overall, Relay’s online reviews are some of the best in business banking. And I’m not just saying that. This is something we’ve worked very hard to achieve.
Even still, like any platform, we also receive negative reviews by a small number of frustrated users. Several of these reviews even accuse Relay of “scamming” or “screwing over” small businesses, withholding customer funds for no reason, and even ghosting users. Let me be clear: these claims are patently false. That said, I understand where this very real frustration comes from.
These are the most common situations that lead to these kinds of reviews:
Requests for more information or documents to process a transaction or open an account
This review could look like: “I wired money into my Relay account and then wired a portion to my business partner. Relay flagged BOTH wires!”
Account freezes or closures resulting from a review by our Compliance Team
This review could look like: “Relay froze my account until I sent them information to prove my business was real!”
Customer support to help customers navigate these moments
This review could look like: “Relay's customer service is unhelpful and slow to respond!”
In the spirit of transparency, I’ll go through each of these topics to explain our approach, why we take it, and how it helps our users.
Why does Relay ask for additional verification documents?
We take steps to verify our users (e.g. requesting additional documents or details) to comply with the federal Bank Secrecy Act (BSA).
This is a law requiring financial institutions (including Relay) to uphold strict reporting so that the federal government can detect and prevent money laundering. It requires financial institutions to verify that their customers are who they say they are; this is called the Customer Identification Program.
For a physical, brick and mortar bank branch, a customer walks into the bank, hands over their photo ID, and the teller can verify them by looking at them. At Relay, we do this digitally. When new customers sign up, we request information during the application process to verify their identity before their account is approved. This includes:
Personal information (e.g. name, date of birth and contact details)
Business information (e.g. business address, size and ownership details)
ID verification data (e.g. government-issued ID, Social Security Number and Employer Identification Number)
This could sound like several steps. To put it into perspective, I’ll be completely transparent: 92% of all complete account applications submitted to Relay are approved.
We only approve applications that include the full and necessary information requested so that we can verify them and confirm they are non-fraudulent. The takeaway here is that legitimate businesses considering Relay for their banking have nothing to worry about.
Will Relay freeze my account?
Another topic I’ve seen in online reviews is Relay freezing or closing accounts.
To be clear, Relay will never close an account without first warning the account holder or requesting more information. The idea that we abruptly shut off access without warning is not accurate.
Here are the steps that come before an account freeze:
Monitoring for fraud signals: Relay’s always-on fraud detection monitors for signals of illegitimate activity on our platform. When we pick up on them, we act immediately.
Issuing an RFI: Next we put out a Request for Information (RFI). This is an industry-wide protocol whereby a financial institution asks for more transaction details to verify its legitimacy. RFIs protect consumers from fraud by giving them the chance to validate legitimate transactions, or dispute fraudulent ones.
RFIs at Relay: RFIs at Relay are issued via email. We’ll always include a clear ask and explanation. The response deadline will depend on the transaction, but there’s a minimum one day’s notice (though often longer). We’ll also follow-up via phone to make our best effort to get in touch.
Freezing and closing accounts: When we don’t hear back in time—or if our signals indicate potential fraud—only then do we freeze the account. In cases where we confirm fraud, we close the account and post a check for any outstanding balance to the business address on file. Under no circumstances will Relay keep the outstanding balance of a closed account.
RFIs exist to protect you, your money and your Relay account. The reality is that fewer than one percent of all transactions on Relay receive an RFI.
Can I reach a real person for help?
Definitely. This year, Relay launched the Account Protection Team (APT), an expert team of on-call specialists dedicated to guiding customers through account security and fraud prevention. They do this by reviewing, responding to, and resolving customer inquiries about Relay’s security and regulatory compliance actions, so customers are supported and informed at every step. And it’s working.
Already, our customer support resolves 80% of inquiries within their first reply. The APT has further improved Relay’s support for compliance and risk prevention cases even further. It has sharpened our fraud detection accuracy, and enabled faster turnaround times to investigate and clear non-fraudulent cases.
Our new APT delivers the highest standard of support with each interaction. We’re grateful for the feedback in Relay reviews because it helped us to build and launch this new support service to reduce friction for the small businesses who bank with us.
Trust is everything
I can’t promise Relay will never make mistakes when it comes to fraud detection; no banking provider can. The truth is that risk prevention isn’t black and white. No one gets it right 100% of the time.
What I can promise is that Relay will bring an unprecedented level of radical transparency to this process. In banking, it’s not common to share these compliance and fraud prevention datapoints, but we’re choosing to do so to earn your valued trust.
Trust between small business owners and their banking provider is essential. Sure. I could point to our growing customer base or recent awards wins to show you Relay is the real deal—and we are proud of those achievements. But, real trust is earned through action and communication, and so my hope with this post is that you can see and believe that this is us putting our best foot forward.
