The experience of visiting a bank and being told that cash withdrawals are no longer available can be quite surprising, as this woman discovered firsthand.
We all are used to going to the banks and taking out cash or availing other banking services whenever required. However, imagine one day going to your bank and being told that you will not be provided cash, as they have stopped this particular service. You'll be surprised and that's what happened to Taryn Compton and she couldn't believe it.
One of the biggest banks in Australia changed its policy and stopped keeping cash at the counter. If anyone has to take out money, they have to use ATMs. But this wasn't an issue for the customers. It was the fact that they were notified about the change by their bank, reported GOD.
Taryn Compton—who goes by @basketballmumma—wanted to renovate her house and urgently needed $3500 in cash. She narrates in a video what happened when she went to the bank for the money. “So I went to the bank, but I didn’t have my physical card,” she says. “I thought ‘That’s fine, I’ll just go to the teller.' "
That did not work out for her. “The teller proceeds to tell me they don’t have cash in the bank anymore, you can only get it out through the ATM, but she said ‘Don’t worry, I’ll set you a card up so you can just tap it in place of your card,' ” adds Compton.
Unfortunately, the ATM kept responding with an error message when she tried to access her account. The teller then asked her to try another bank. “Luckily for me, I am with another bank, so I transferred every single penny out of that account, closed the account while I was there and went and got my money out at another bank," Compton added. "But it just got me thinking about our banking system and where we’re at and how the hell can you go to a bank and not access your own money.”
There are many banks like Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ), who are changing their policy because according to them, fewer people are opting for cash transactions at the bank. An ANZ spokesperson said, "Some ANZ branches no longer handle cash at the counter, but continue to have cash available through our onsite Smart ATMs.”
The video by Compton went viral and several other people were unhappy with the way the bank worked. @thebadunicornn commented, "No money at all at the bank?! I understand not being able to take out $10,000 on the spot but like dude!! Don’t carry cash?!" @planetzeebot wrote, "Cash is legal tender so baffled how a bank cannot have cash. I would have done the same and moved banks too."
@Iam_calleja_ chimed in, "Well, I mean, we are heading towards a digital economy so it's becoming something to expect." @cani_1978 expressed, "I’d understand if you were trying to pull $50,000 or so but 3,000 dollars, that’s not a lot for a bank to keep on hand."
According to Insider, many banking companies are planning to go digital when it comes to money. However, the report points out that the problem with digitization is that the tiniest of payments will then travel through financial institutions, which could lead to surveillance and control.
Editor's note: This article was originally published on July 6, 2023. It has since been updated.