Ever thought to yourself “The ATM stole my money!”, but you don’t know why or what’s next.. well, stay tuned as we discuss this today.
Have you ever been in a situation where you’re at an ATM, getting out some cash and right at the last moment got distracted? By the time you turn around to take the cash, it’s gone… the ATM has taken the money back. Even worse, your bank account is showing that the cash has been taken from your account!
“The ATM stole my money!”
What do you do? Firstly, don’t panic. This situation is called a cash retract. A cash retract is an ATM safety protocol that was created to prevent overexposure of cash.
As an ATM operator, we must comply with the industry body principles such as the Payment Card Industry Standards. With cash retracts there is an agreed maximum time in which the cash can be presented before it is securely retracted. When this does happen, it means that the cash has been out in the open for too long. The ATM will make a number of notification noises prompting you to take the cash before the cash is retracted. This prompt lasts for up to 45 seconds. Be advised, if you don’t take the cash within the allotted time, the ATM safety protocol will be activated.
The protocols are there to protect you, the customer.
We want to prevent situations like the next person pocketing the cash. This example would result in no way for the customer to request or receive a refund.
If the ATM retracts the cash, we ask you, the customer, to get in touch with whoever issued your card, for example your bank. The card issuer will be the ones to take the dispute forward, not Euronet.
Once your dispute has been raised, the bank will approach the relevant cash machine provider (i.e. us). If it’s an issue regarding cash inaccuracies, they’ll check a record of the ATM’s transactions. This will provide information on any under/over deliveries of cash, or if any cash was requested/dispensed on the date advised.
In the majority of cash claims, the bank will automatically reimburse you whilst they are investigating. The cash retract is a digital transaction that will be identified by the ATM software audit log and the withdrawal amount will then be returned to your account within 48 hours depending on your bank.
If this does ever happen to you, we want to apologise in advance for the inconvenience and remember to follow these steps:
- Do not panic – the cash will be returned to your bank account.
- Take note of the date, place, and time.
- Contact your bank / card issuer.
If you are looking for information on other cash withdrawal issues like “The ATM stole my money!”, why don’t you check out our other blogs which makes up a three-part series.
“Encountering fees at the ATM” – discussing the different types of fees at the ATM and why they’re applied.
“The ATM didn’t give me my money!” – discussing the who, what and why of cash dispense issues.
