Citibank Tellers No Longer Accepting Cash Payments

[scrabbler1]

I have a credit card with Citibank I rarely use (it's my back-up card), so it doesn't affect me much. I got a letter the other day from Citibank telling me that starting in July their bank tellers won't be accepting cash payments any more. Doesn't that seem rather odd, a bank policy directing their tellers not to accept CASH any more for payments?

You can still make cash payments through one of their ATMs, of course. And they will still accept checks. My local branch used to have one of those Payment Express boxes you could use to make payments and deposits. I recall seeing those back in the 1980s and they were pretty handy when there were lines at the tellers. I would never deposit cash that way, just checks.

I switched to another CC a few years ago which offered cash back, opting out of the stupid and worthless "points" program with my Citibank CC. I have one small automatic, annual charge I decided to keep with Citibank because it will keep the card open. My local branch is walking distance, so I make one trip per year there now to pay it. It was as small as $10 which I usually paid in cash but now it is $22, still small enough to pay with cash but I won't be able to do that any more when I get my next bill about a year from now.

Does anyone have any idea why Citibank would stop accepting cash payments to their tellers? I mean, they are a bank, isn't handling cash part of the job description?

 

[captain3d]

Is it legal to refuse cash as payment?


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[braumeister]

It's part of their employee healthcare initiative.

Do you have any idea what sorts of germs and things are on paper money?

 

[MRG]

It's a risk having employees handle cash. Despite them all passing background checks sometime money walks away.

 

[cathy63]

Is it legal to refuse cash as payment?

Yes. Only the Federal government has to accept cash.

 

[calmloki]

I've dealt with Citi before and with great pain. The name, by the way, is pronounced with a "shh" for the C.

Keep waiting for the Costco/Citi card to blow up or give me plastic herpes or drain all our bank accounts.

They are a Citi bank

 

[easysurfer]

They probably would take Amazon gift cards instead of cash (I'm just being sarcastic, of course ).

 

[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?

 

[broadway]

I Googled.
https://truththeory.com/2016/11/25/war-cash-goes-full-effect-citibank-stops-accepting-cash-multiple-branches/

.

 

[MichaelB]

Sounds like a way to reduce the number of branch offices and tellers. Lots of retail transactions are cash related that could be automated, but the customers are reluctant to do so.

 

[COcheesehead]

I haven't set foot in a bank in years. Everything is through Billpay, cell phone deposits or ATM's. So seeing stuff like this doesn't surprise me. Just one more nail in the coffin of retail banking.

 

[youbet]

Sounds like a way to reduce the number of branch offices and tellers. Lots of retail transactions are cash related that could be automated, but the customers are reluctant to do so.

Do you really think the number of cash transactions to pay CC bills or mortgages (the two types of transactions Citi is no longer accepting cash for) is large enough to lead to reducing staff? I can't find any data, but it seems like it would be rare for someone to show up at the bank with a handful of cash to pay the CC bill or mortgage.

 

[COcheesehead]

Do you really think the number of cash transactions to pay CC bills or mortgages (the two types of transactions Citi is no longer accepting cash for) is large enough to lead to reducing staff? I can't find any data, but it seems like it would be rare for someone to show up at the bank with a handful of cash to pay the CC bill or mortgage.

There is a part of society that lives on cash. I have employees that do not have checking accounts. Everything they do is cash. So it bet there are more cash transactions than you think.

 

[youbet]

There is a part of society that lives on cash. I have employees that do not have checking accounts. Everything they do is cash. So it bet there are more cash transactions than you think.

I don't think so. Remember, we're not talking about general cash transactions at the teller window. We're talking about going into the bank and paying your credit card bill in cash. It would seem strange for someone who uses a CC to regularly make a trip to the bank with cash to pay the CC bill.

I think the "part of society that lives on cash" is also predominantly a group that doesn't use CC's.

 

[MichaelB]

I think the "part of society that lives on cash" is also predominantly a group that doesn't use CC's.

Or banks. Many of them, and the businesses they work for, use check cashing services instead of banks.

An extended family member of mine who worked as a teller said there were a high number of low value cash transactions by seniors who preferred to stop by the branch and cash a check rather than use the ATM.

 

[youbet]

Or banks. Many of them, and the businesses they work for, use check cashing services instead of banks.

An extended family member of mine who worked as a teller said there were a high number of low value cash transactions by seniors who preferred to stop by the branch and cash a check rather than use the ATM.

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.

 

[gerntz]

Well, just go in & deposit the cash in an account with a debit card attached & then give them your debit card to pay the credit card bill based on the cash you just deposited.

 

[GrayHare]

A refusal to accept reasonable cash in payment of a debt, public or private as is printed on Federal Reserve notes, is evidence the debt has been satisfied. https://arstechnica.com/civis/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=625014

 

[gauss]

Perhaps a "trial balloon" to see if moving cashless at Citi would be tolerated in the US?

 

[ChiliPepr]

Is it legal to refuse cash as payment?

Yes. Only the Federal government has to accept cash.

Not always true, in Massachusetts all retail establishments must accept cash.

Section 10A: Discrimination against cash buyers

Section 10A. No retail establishment offering goods and services for sale shall discriminate against a cash buyer by requiring the use of credit by a buyer in order to purchase such goods and services. All such retail establishments must accept legal tender when offered as payment by the buyer.

 

[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]

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]

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]

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?"