Irish Bank moves to cashless banking

[Faith]

Irish Bank moves to cashless banking

The Irish Times – Irish News, Business News, Sports News & Ireland Weather Online


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It might sound like a contradiction in terms, but for the first time one of the main Irish consumer banks is moving to cashless banking in all its branches.

National Irish Bank has written to thousands of its customers this month informing them of a “new style of banking” in which branches will not handle over-the-counter cash transactions.

The letter says branches will no longer handle cash withdrawals and lodgements, night safe lodgements and foreign currency cash. Branches will continue to lodge cheques, drafts and postal orders and issue drafts.

Customers are advised to obtain cash from “ATMs nationwide” or to seek “cash-back” on their debit cards.

A spokesman confirmed that cashless banking was being introduced across the entire NIB branch network over the next 18 months, and had already been introduced successfully in a number of branches. He said the feedback from customers was positive with few complaints.

“These branches provide better security for staff and allow us to spend more time, in a better setting, with our customers . . . Customers like them, as our staff have more time to discuss customers’ overall needs.”

However, NIB customer Frank Barry from Malahide described the change as hilarious and ridiculous: “A bank refusing to accept cash . . . I thought that’s what they are for?”

Mr Barry contacted The Irish Times after his wife Catherine Gralton received two letters informing her that the local branch would stop handling cash from next February.

“If I did have a cash lodgement, I would have to go to another bank, buy a bank draft and then go to NIB to lodge it,” he said.

An NIB spokesman said the changes followed the model used by NIB’s parent, Danish-owned Danske Bank. Cashless banking is far more common in Scandinavia. while Irish dependence on cash is among the highest in Europe.

The spokesman said it recognised that some business customers may need to lodge and withdraw cash and it would offer these a number of options.

However, he declined to say what these options were, citing security reasons.

NIB announced earlier this month it was cutting 150 jobs and closing 25 of the bank’s 58 branches because of the recession and changes in the banking sector.

ACC Bank, which specialises in business lending, has also moved to cashless operations.

The Irish Banking Federation said it was not aware of any other main banks introducing cashless banking at this stage, though a spokesman added that “they would all love to”.

Handling cash is more expensive than the non-cash alternatives such as internet banking or debit and credit cards.

Cash also poses greater security threats for the banks, whereas consumers bear many of the risks associated with non-cash transactions.

NIB in particular has suffered a number of high-profile robberies and one of the branches it has already converted to cashless banking, on Dublin’s Howth Road, was the scene of a so-called tiger robbery in 2006

[Inky]

I guess you could look at this a couple of ways. First, the city I live in has had a lot of bank robberies in the last month, I mean like one every couple of days. If you are not accepting cash or carrying cash, then you probably won’t get robbed. I am one of those with a debit card and I do draw cash from it so this bank thing probably wouldn’t bother me a whole lot because I would just whip around the back where the ATM is and pull out cash there if need be. But, IMO, this is all leading up to one world currency and to ultimately the mark of the beast because under that type of scenario, it will be a cashless society. I sometimes wonder what I would do if all of a sudden VISA said they wanted to plant a chip in my right hand so that all I had to do was wave my hand as I was going out the door of a store or wave my hand to pay at the cash register. I guess unless you pledge allegiance to the AC it is probably ok, but, still, I would then force myself to go back to writing checks.

Anyway, just my take.

[Carl]

Unfortunately aren't ATM robberies rather less than rare? So I don't see that as a real bank customer relations move.

[mikalikat]

Actually, Carl, ATM robberies are quite active AND you have people installing these scanners over the place you put your card in and it "scans and copies" your card number and all numbering sequences. It's safe to check for them--if you look you can see them. Drive-thru ATMs are most-often targed since people are busy and looking to drive off quickly and not take a second to examine the machine itself. Anyway, that said, cashless life IS part of the OWG and it's coming, like it or not.

[bghtnpd4]

Cashless banks and retailers will work well with the MOTB....we are one step closer every day!

[Suzanne]

I agree that this move brings us closer to the OWG and the MOTB.