In response to my post about guidelines on detection and impounding of counterfeit notes at Indian Banks, a reader asks,
Has anyone got a fake currency note through an ATM? What is the process to be followed in such a case? Does the bank keep track of each and every note fed into the ATM?
With most banks outsourcing to a third-party the loading of cash into ATMs, I’m not sure where the accountability and audit trail lies. I’ve never faced such a situation. How about you? If you have, what did you do?
2 thoughts on “Ask the Readers: What Should I Do If an ATM Gives Me a Counterfeit Currency Note?”
I have often wondered about this question, and I was hoping some reader of yours would come up with this info. If you get to know what to do in such a situation, do pass the info our way.
This has been a concern for at least some of us as there is no way currently to exchange what you get off an ATM machine.
It is a matter of great concern as I have been told by a banker friend of mine(a private new gen bank) that if they get a counterfeit note in the bank whose origin cannot be traced back, they insert it into the note bundles which are meant for the ATM maintainer party.
An option I see viable from the bank’s side is to ensure that ONLY fresh set of note bundles are loaded in each machine.. though I understand the practical difficulty of this method..
And the onus should be on the banks to ensure that the notes are genuine before they get loaded into an ATM.
To avoid such situation, I’d advice anyone to use the ATMs of banks where they have accounts and keep transactions on other banks’ ATMs to the minimum considering the fact that you will be really running from post to pillar if you get a high denomination note which is counterfeit from a third party bank’s ATM.
By the way, your site rocks!