ATM swallowing refers to the fact that the balance in the account has been deducted when the user has withdrawn money due to various reasons.
Users tend to feel anxious and inconvenienced when encountering such situations. The time and process for dealing with this situation will vary depending on the bank's different policies and operating procedures.
The following is a general process and the time frame that may be involved to facilitate the understanding of the process.
Logging Events** As soon as an ATM is found to have swallowed money, the user should immediately record details such as the time, location, machine number, and amount of money withdrawn.
Contact Bank** Users should immediately contact the bank staff using mobile banking, online banking,** customer service or the nearest bank branch to report the incident. This allows the bank to track down the issue and start dealing with it as quickly as possible.
Investigation and verification** Upon receipt of a customer report, the bank initiates an internal investigation process. This typically involves checking the ATM machine's logs, monitoring records, and cash balances inside the machine.
Daily Closing and Reconciliation** The bank will conduct a daily settlement at the ATM machine to check whether the cash balance inside the machine matches the accounting records and confirm whether there are any discrepancies.
Initial Response** Banks typically give an initial response within a few hours of receiving a report from a customer to let the customer know that they have begun to address the issue.
Survey Period** The survey process may take several business days to complete. This time depends on the bank's processing efficiency, the status of the ATM machine, and whether information needs to be obtained from a third-party service provider.
Interim Decision** If the investigation shows that the customer's allegations are reasonable, the bank may grant a temporary refund or account credit during the investigation to alleviate the customer's urgent needs.
Final Processing** Once the investigation is complete, the bank will refund the corresponding amount to the user's account if it is determined that an error at the ATM machine caused the funds to not be withdrawn.
Notify the customer** The bank will notify the customer of the outcome of the investigation and the final processing decision. If it is confirmed that the funds should be returned, the user will usually receive a refund.
Weekends & Holidays** If an ATM go-up event occurs on a weekend or holiday, the processing time may be longer as the bank may not do daily settlement and reconciliation on these days.
Third-party ATMs** If the ATM that swallows money belongs to a different bank than the user's account, communication and collaboration between the two banks may be required, which may result in longer processing times.
Use a familiar ATM** Try to use your own bank's ATM or a machine you know and use regularly, so that if something goes wrong, it may be quicker to deal with.
Pay attention to the status of the machine** Pay attention to whether there is any abnormal situation in the ATM machine before withdrawing money, such as abnormal noise, fault prompt, etc., to avoid risks.
Keep a record of your transactions** Always keep the transaction slip after a withdrawal as evidence that may be needed later.
The exact arrival time of ATM swallow money varies from bank to bank, but usually the processing process takes several business days. Users should contact the bank as soon as possible and keep all relevant evidence in order to resolve the issue quickly. Banks generally address and resolve such issues within a short period of time after an investigation. Users should be patient during this period and keep in communication with the bank to keep abreast of the latest processing progress. 100 help plan