Why do banks ask why I'm withdrawing cash?

Petition updateAn Australian cash and banking guaranteeWhy do banks ask why I'm withdrawing cash?

Jason BryceWILLIAMSTOWN, Australia

Apr 23, 2024

Hi Cash Lovers,

Bank customers who withdraw cash from a bank teller are increasingly being questioned about the reason for the withdrawal.

There are plenty of viral videos on social media of people trying to withdraw their own money from their own account and being asked for more information by bank staff.

I don’t like arguing with bank staff or checkout workers. There are some good examples of bank staff saving customers from losing their money to scammers by asking a few questions. Sometimes (smaller) banks need to be told in advance about big withdrawals.

Withdrawals over $10,000 may trigger Anti-Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing red flags and cause the bank to ask questions about your cash. These should be pretty easy to answer and leave with your money.

For withdrawals under $10,000 there is less reason for the bank to want to know why you want your own cash.

It feels like bank staff are managing the demand for physical cash in each branch and generally always steering us toward digital transactions. Commonwealth Bank wants to ban cash transactions over $500.

Hopefully, unless there is reason to suspect that a customer might be getting scammed, bank staff can get back to assisting us to get our own cash.

“Banks need to hand over our money and say, ‘Thank you have a nice day’,”

Only cash is private, reliable and surcharge-free.

Please share our petition calling for government to protect our right to access cash and our right to sue cash to buy food and essential groceries:

https://www.change.org/BankingAndCashGuarantee

This campaign is now huge and making a big difference. Here I am talking to Sunrise on 7 and here is Natalie Barr on Sunrise this week talking about cash.

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