Going to an ATM is a convenient, fast way to interact with your money. You don’t even have to seek out a nearby branch of your bank to find an automated machine that can dispense cash on the spot. But an ATM cannot replace the wisdom and knowledge of someone who has worked in a bank as a teller for years.
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Bank tellers have all sorts of useful insight for customers that they can share from the other side of the bank counter. Important tips, such as the three instances of when to never ask for $100 bills at a bank, can help you make smarter and safer choices the next time you need to make a deposit or withdrawal.
This includes several reasons why you should never withdraw large bills from the ATM. Some bank tellers let you know why.
These days, you can often ask for the domination of bills at an ATM. Anything from as low as $5’s and $10’s to sometimes $100 bills. But you might be putting yourself in a precarious situation when you need to leave the ATM.
“There are some obvious and some less obvious reasons people should not withdraw large bills,” said Jose Acosta, a head teller at Addition Financial, who has been with the credit union for five years.
It’s worth being extra cautious about using ATMs for large withdrawals because of the risks of falling victim to attacks, either in-person or via hackers. Most bank tellers note that it’s safer to opt for digital payment methods or cash out smaller bills to reduce these potential risks and ensure you and your finances are safe.
“It can also be very dangerous to carry a large amount of cash on your person, if someone is following you or spots you are collecting large denominations from an ATM, you can become an easy target,” Acosta said. “As I like to tell members, ‘The best financial security begins with yourself.’”
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“One reason to stay away from withdrawing large bills from the ATM is because a lot of businesses no longer take them,” Acosta said.
If a business does take cash, they usually are pretty upfront about what kind of cash they are willing to accept. Lots of shops and over the counter operations post signage reading that they will not accept bills over a certain amount or do not take bills of a higher currency.
“Even something as high as a fifty-dollar bill can easily get rejected, let alone a hundred-dollar bill. It could be to protect against potential counterfeit bills or simply they can’t make change,” Acosta said.
