“Your Transaction Cannot Be Completed At This Time.”

By Maria Orms | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice

That’s what my banking portal told me when I tried to send $1,500 through Zelle for a personal transaction. I was below my daily limit. Everything was correct. And yet, my money was blocked.

When I called customer service, the interrogation began. The agent asked who I was sending the money to. I said I did not have to disclose that. He insisted Zelle was blocking the payment and could not lift the block unless I answered. After repeated prodding, I reluctantly said it was a personal friend.

Next came the question of the purpose of the transaction. Again, I refused. He cited fraud prevention. I confirmed the payment was legitimate, but the questioning continued: “Is this for a loan, an investment, a product, or what?” I finally said, “services rendered.” He pressed further: “Have you already received the services? And what services were they?”

At that moment, it became clear: this was not about preventing fraud. It was about control—control over how I spend my own money. I ended the call, unwilling to justify my personal finances to a system designed to scrutinize every transaction and determined to use a different method of payment to complete my transaction.

Colorado’s HB 26-1110, the Vulnerable Adult Financial Exploitation Banking bill, claims to protect vulnerable adults. But in practice, it empowers banks—and their automated systems—to demand details of any transaction, monitor your spending, and ultimately decide whether you can access your own money. This is part of a growing trend of debanking, where banks can close, block or restrict access to financial services, effectively controlling who can participate in the financial system.

A recent Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) recently reviewed debanking complaints against the nine largest banks in the country and found that “between 2020 and 2023, these nine banks made inappropriate distinctions among customers in the provision of financial services on the basis of their lawful business activities by maintaining policies restricting access to banking services or requiring escalated reviews and approvals before providing certain customers access to financial services.”

So instead of guaranteeing Coloradans access to fair banking, the Colorado State Legislature, and Governor Polis if he signs it, are strengthening the bank’s abilities to continue these harmful practices.

We are witnessing a broader trend: in the digital age, freedoms once taken for granted—privacy, autonomy, choice—are quietly eroding. Just as shadow-banning exists on social media, these systems and laws give banks the power to approve or deny our financial decisions.

It’s time to draw a line. We need a Digital Bill of Rights to ensure that constitutional freedoms—financial, personal, and digital—are respected, even in an era of automated oversight. Our money, our choices, our rights—these should remain ours.

Maria Orms is a U.S. Air-Force veteran with a M.S. in Engineering from the University of Colorado – Boulder and an M.S. in Cybersecurity from the University of Denver and has worked in technology for almost 40 years with her CISSP, CCNA and SANS GIAC Forensic Network Analyst Certifications. She has a consulting company, Cybersecurity Inside Out, where she consults with clients on how to ensure the protection of their personal data in the digital world, provides annual cybersecurity training to small businesses and provides privacy phones to clients that understand and value the need for privacy in our digital world.

Editor’s note: Opinions expressed in commentary pieces are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the management of the Rocky Mountain Voice, but even so we support the constitutional right of the author to express those opinions.