Depositing To ATM's

ATM's (automatic teller machines) have become a major channel for banking. They truly are a marvel. They usually work and work correctly. You can put money in and take money out. You can transfer money between accounts and buy stamps. There is, however, a major difference in the way your transaction is processed. A deposit to an ATM is recorded in the computer system when you do it, but the actual processing of the deposit may not happen until the next day. Here is an example. You are coming home from work after you bank branch has closed. You have checks that need to be deposited. The ATM is right there so you fill out the envelope and push the appropriate buttons and stuff your envelope into the slot. Great! your deposit is done and you are on your way. Well, sort of. You see the deposit will not be taken from the ATM until the next day. Some times it is done by branch personnel and sometimes it is pickup up by another department or service provider. That means there is a delay in your deposit getting into your account. Branch personnel or the pick-up service will take that deposit and process it the next day. That means that any checks or debits that come through your account that night will not be covered. Additionally you have to take into consideration holds or check aging. If the bank holds all local deposits for 24hrs then that delays your deposit even more. Another consideration is the size of the deposit. Banks can delay the availability of deposits if they have reason to believe there is additional risk. I once had a person bring in a personal check written in three different color inks without a payee listed. Danger, danger, danger. I would not take the check. The moral to the story is whenever possible make your deposits with a teller. It is faster and more efficient. Here is a situation that you may find interesting. I once had a customer call and say that a deposit she had made in our ATM has not shown in her account. Of course I was sceptical. I have heard that story many times, but the customer seemed sincere and I wanted to make sure I did all I could to find her deposit. Each deposit that is made into an ATM is imprinted with information to identify the deposit. We verified that each deposit that was recorded by the ATM was accounted for. Nothing was missing according to the ATM records. We opened the machine and looked everywhere, pulled out the hoppers and dismantled the machine as much as possible. Nothing. We took one more look and I looked into the front of the machine and I could see a crumpled envelope. It was stuck under the conveyor that takes the deposit envelope and prints on it. The didn't let the machine take the envelope, but crammed it in the slot herself before the machine had a chance to take it.