Citibank Tellers No Longer Accepting Cash Payments

[ocean view]

Are you sure you read the letter correctly? I received a similar notification from Wells Fargo last month, but it said they would no longer accept cash deposits from non-account holders. So, for example, I could not make a cash deposit to a teller, into my Mom’s account. The notice said tellers will accept checks and cashiers checks, just not cash. Cash could still be deposited in an ATM. And I could make a cash deposit to my own account.

New rules to combat money laundering? Maybe Breaking Bad is influencing me too much. But it seems they are looking to being able to better trace the movement of cash.

[cathy63]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChiliPepr Not always true, in Massachusetts all retail establishments must accept cash.

Interesting. I did not know that any states had passed such laws. Are these businesses allowed to refuse $100 bills for small purchases? What if they don't have the right change available for a large bill?

[bUU]

Keep in mind that they still accept cash. They simply have rules for how you submit the cash just like they have business hours when tellers are available.

[MRG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by youbet That makes sense and I agree. What I'm questioning is the frequency of folks regularly paying their CC bill at the bank with cash. (That's the subject here, right?) That would seem to be very unusual. I'm not questioning the fact that some members of society live life on a cash basis. Citibank is still allowing cash transactions (cashing checks, depositing cash to checking, etc.). They are, as OP stated, just eliminating accepting cash to pay CC bills. I think those specific transactions are rare so this is a moot or at least no-big-deal issue.

Many states now have laws permitting sales of substances that must be paid with cash. Many states are saying it's a billion or more in revenue all cash.

[youbet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MRG Many states now have laws permitting sales of substances that must be paid with cash. Many states are saying it's a billion or more in revenue all cash.

I'm kinda missing the point here...... We're talking about Citi no longer accepting cash for the payment of CC bills. Is that what you mean by "sales of substances?"

[bUU]

I think the point is that the public interest is served better by having traceable transactions rather than nontraceable transactions so moves in that direction won't face the kind of official push back they may have in the past.

[youbet]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bUU I think the point is that the public interest is served better by having traceable transactions rather than nontraceable transactions so moves in that direction won't face the kind of official push back they may have in the past.

But the case we're discussing isn't like buying an object on the street for cash. We're paying a CC bill. That transaction, even done with cash at the teller's window, would be traceable through your CC history.

[MRG]

Quote:

Originally Posted by youbet I'm kinda missing the point here...... We're talking about Citi no longer accepting cash for the payment of CC bills. Is that what you mean by "sales of substances?"

I'm talking about legal Cannabis. You're all talking like there's no big cash based industries and no big players need to go outside of the banking system. Well it's 2018 and there's billions of dollars in grey market cash transactions going on daily.

What do you think the guy who's taking 20k home every night does with his cash? I'm guessing he's bought a nice sweater on his charge card and is paying it off with cash.


It's not limited to grey market cash. In many industries folks still barter or use cash. I don't recall ever seeing a check when I was logging.

[GalaxyBoy]

From the US Treasury Department's web site:

https://www.treasury.gov/resource-ce...al-tender.aspx

Partial quote:

Quote:

There is, however, no Federal statute mandating that a private business, a person or an organization must accept currency or coins as for payment for goods and/or services. Private businesses are free to develop their own policies on whether or not to accept cash unless there is a State law which says otherwise.

[Bamaman]

I think it is part of Citibank being operated as different businesses.

The banking operation has separate books from the credit card and the investment divisions. The banking division is not getting paid internally to process payments for the Visa/MasterCard division.

I use Wells Fargo bill pay services for all my bills. The bank sucks, but their computer system and Bill Pay department is great. Our city of 50,000 has something like 19 different banks and savings and loans. But only one S&L and one credit union ever have full parking lots. I honestly don't understand why they are all in business, and they cannot all be successful and profitable.

[GrayHare]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GalaxyBoy From the US Treasury Department's web site: https://www.treasury.gov/resource-ce...al-tender.aspx Partial quote:

A subtle but important distinction: the above applies to transactions, not debts. The OP's situation involves a debt.

[bUU]

Quote:

Originally Posted by youbet But the case we're discussing isn't like buying an object on the street for cash.

I didn't say it was. I said that the public interest is served better by having traceable transactions rather than nontraceable transactions so moves in that direction won't face the kind of official push back they may have in the past.

Quote:

Originally Posted by youbet We're paying a CC bill. That transaction, even done with cash at the teller's window, would be traceable through your CC history.

How does that provide traceability with regard to where you obtained the cash?

Regardless, the point is that electronic payments are more readily traceable generally and so moves in that direction won't face the kind of official push back they may have in the past.

[NYEXPAT]

Quote:

Originally Posted by youbet Just curious....... I've never considered driving to the bank and paying my CC bill in cash. I always pay on line. Second choice would be to mail a paper check. What would be the advantage of traveling to the brick and mortar bank building and paying the CC bill with cash?

I live in the "city" and do not have a car. I pay cash for almost everything. Things where I have monthly payments like rent,utilities,CC,private school tuition,apt maintenance fees,dental bills etc, I will pay as I pass the bank,school,etc while I am out for my morning or afternoon walk. Usually I am all paid up by the 15th of the month and have to find an excuse to get out of the apartment the last two weeks of the month. I mostly use a credit card for international travel, but on occasion I will buy my airline tickets in cash as the airline offices are just a few blocks away.

[aja8888]

OP, try this:

Go into the back and cash a Citi check at the teller window for the exact amount of your CC bill (I assume they will give you cash). Then, immediately hand them back the cash and your CC bill and say you are paying it off. I'll bet they take the cash.

[ChiliPepr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cathy63 Interesting. I did not know that any states had passed such laws. Are these businesses allowed to refuse $100 bills for small purchases? What if they don't have the right change available for a large bill?

My guess is they have to take the $100 bill, but they do not have to make change for it... but I do not know.

I only know about this law because a restaurant (Sweetgreens?) in Boston tried to only take credit cards and they were forced to allow people to pay with cash.

[scrabbler1]

Interesting variety of discussions I stirred up here LOL......


Remember it's only the tellers (actually, "bank employees" in general, not just tellers) who won't accept cash (as bUU pointed out). You can still make cash payments using their ATM (something I would never do).


Calmloki, when I had a checking account with Citibank back in the 1980s, that's what I and everyone else I knew called them, "Shhhh*tiBank!"


I live near the local Citibank and can walk there if it is nice weather. When their CC was my primary CC, I did that often. It is also on the way to any stores I would go to, so merely making it a stop while driving elsewhere was no big deal (parking sometimes was tight in their tiny lot, though).


I use the Citibank CC once a year now since I began using a different CC as my main CC a few years ago. So, I get a bill for what is now $22 once a year for the one tiny charge I put on it.


I no longer have a checking account with Citibank after I changed banks back in 1989. The CC I have with them did not start off with them, though. It was through a different bank before it changed hands a few times in the 1990s, finally landing with Citibank. The local Citibank branch took over a different bank around 2001, creating the possibility of being able to walk there or stop off there easily. Aja8888, I doubt they would let me cash a check with them because I don't have a checking or savings account with them; I doubt having a CC would be sufficient.


Ocean View, the letter was pretty clear. It even reminded me of the PIN I had set up with the CC in case I want to use an ATM to make a CC cash payment that way. The letter said nothing about having any account other than a CC.