I think the first problem is you are talking about Wells Fargo. One of the worst banking options imaginable in the US.

While limits might not be much different from other banks, at the very least it's not Wells Fucking Fargo.

ive banked with wells forever and never had a problem. Practices like this are mostly designed for security reasons and will be similar across the big banks

Lucky you. Wells Fargo are terrible.

Seriously, do some research. I'd never use those fools.

This is typical around the world. This is probably because it's a very practical way to limit losses if someone did gain access to your online banking.

When I lived in Australia, which I believe has a very modern banking system, I couldn't instantly send more than $5k a day. The one time I needed to send more money, I was fine with going into a branch.

FWIW the app for my ING bank account in the Netherlands allowed me to move up the slider allows me to move up the slider for daily transfers up to 50k euros. A little scary, but thought it could be handy if I need to move money around one day. Probably a different regulatory context, though.

You can up the limits at any decent bank using some sort of MFA solution without physically going to a branch as if it's 1980.

The $10K limit is a federal regulatory requirement. You have to fill out paperwork and provide identification that is turned over to law enforcement for review.

As an added note: Don't try to get around this by breaking the transaction up into two $5k payments. That's also against the law.

It's called structuring!