# ATM machines **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 16, 2006, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atm-machines/380687 "2006-11-16T15:39:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2006, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atm-machines/380687/21 "2006-11-16T21:45:42Z")
Some years back, our credit union was changing from an account-type card to a debit card, so the cards no longer carried the checking account number on it. So they sent me the new card and a new PIN. I used it to get $20 one morning - worked fine. A few days later, I tried to take out another $20, and it wouldn’t work. I called the credit union and asked about it, and they said the wrong cards were sent and they wouldn’t work so just throw them out. I told the woman that I’d withdrawn $20 with it, and she said that was impossible. My account was never debited for that $20, and in a few days, I got the correct card. So despite trying to do the right thing, I still came out $20 ahead. Considering all the loans that credit union has issued us, they’ve gotten that $20 back many times over. And to answer the question, yes I always check what I get, even though it’s rarely more than $20. I’d rather use my debit card than cash. How many more times can I put $20 in this post?? ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 12:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atm-machines/380687/22 "2006-11-17T00:16:08Z")
[QUOTE=control-z] Do you always count the money an ATM machine gives you? [/quote] Only if they’re made by Diebold. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![JCorre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/3da27b/32.png) [@JCorre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JCorre)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atm-machines/380687/23 "2006-11-17T00:27:34Z")
Mistakes happen all the time so count your money folks. Banks have whole departments dedicated to this exact problem. The one I worked at called it “Misdispense”. ---
**Author:** ![Common\_Tater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/common_tater/32/13846_2.png) [@Common\_Tater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Common_Tater)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atm-machines/380687/24 "2006-11-17T01:12:15Z")
Is it “half” a bill? As long as it’s more than half, torn currency is redeemable for a new, whole bill. One time an ATM failed to spit out any green, but debited my account. The bank made good on it though, but not sure how they determined I wasn’t lying. Another time, at a walk-in ATM, the entire machine retracted after I inserted my card. I was pretty poor at the time, but sheesh. Turned out they were filling the machine. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atm-machines/380687/25 "2006-11-17T01:17:37Z")
[QUOTE=Common Tater] Is it “half” a bill? As long as it’s more than half, torn currency is redeemable for a new, whole bill. [/QUOTE] I thought that, in order to be redeemable, a damaged bill had to have both serial numbers showing? ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atm-machines/380687/26 "2006-11-17T03:06:34Z")
[QUOTE=50million] I once got $20 extra from the ATM. I kept checking my account statements to make sure the bank didn’t charge me for it, and they never did. [/QUOTE] You, you’re pure evil! And you got away with it too. ---
**Author:** ![Waverly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/57b2e6/32.png) [@Waverly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waverly)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atm-machines/380687/27 "2006-11-17T03:27:23Z")
[QUOTE=control-z] You, you’re pure evil! And you got away with it too. [/QUOTE] That isn’t pure evil. Pure evil is thinking ATM Machines was a new adult movie title. ---
**Author:** ![Omniscient](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omniscient/32/3290_2.png) [@Omniscient](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omniscient)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atm-machines/380687/28 "2006-11-17T03:32:48Z")
[QUOTE=Waverly] That isn’t pure evil. Pure evil is thinking ATM Machines was a new adult movie title. [/QUOTE] Evil is knowing that it’s actually an old adult movie title. Really evil is knowing that there were four of them. Pure evil is knowing that the fourth one is the best of the series. What?!?!? ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 7:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atm-machines/380687/29 "2006-11-17T07:20:59Z")
[QUOTE=Sunspace] I thought that, in order to be redeemable, a damaged bill had to have both serial numbers showing? [/QUOTE] When I was a bank teller we took a bill as long as it was over half of a bill. Also, “ATM machine” and “PIN number” are redundant. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 7:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atm-machines/380687/30 "2006-11-17T07:35:41Z")
I always count and so far, so good. I’m not sure how I’d go about proving that the ATM short changed me, if it ever happened. ---
**Author:** ![corkboard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e9bcb4/32.png) [@corkboard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/corkboard)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 1:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atm-machines/380687/31 "2006-11-17T13:29:08Z")
[QUOTE=Bearflag70] When I was a bank teller we took a bill as long as it was over half of a bill. Also, “ATM machine” and “PIN number” are redundant. [/QUOTE] I had always heard that as long as three of the four corners are intact- and serial numbers- it’s valid legal tender. This bill was split exactly down the middle, like someone had purposely folded and refolded it and carefully ripped it exactly in half. Besides, why would a bank agree to exchange it for a full bill if I could do that to every $20 bill and essentially double my money? ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atm-machines/380687/32 "2006-11-17T13:53:24Z")
[QUOTE=McNew] I had always heard that as long as three of the four corners are intact- and serial numbers- it’s valid legal tender. This bill was split exactly down the middle, like someone had purposely folded and refolded it and carefully ripped it exactly in half. Besides, why would a bank agree to exchange it for a full bill if I could do that to every $20 bill and essentially double my money? [/QUOTE] from the [US Dept of Treasury Website](http://www.ustreas.gov/education/faq/currency/sales.shtml) (Paraphrased) the Bureau of Engraving and Printing “…decide the redemption value of torn or otherwise unfit currency by measuring the portions of the notes submitted. Generally, they reimburse the full face value if **clearly** more than one-half of the original note remains. Currency fragments measuring less than one-half are not redeemable” So to answer your question about doubling your money… first of all it’s my understanding that a lot of banks won’t redeem the damaged currency, especially if it’s that close. That leave your next best option as going to the B of E & P, and I’m thinking they may be wise to your game. ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atm-machines/380687/33 "2006-11-17T13:58:47Z")
[QUOTE=StinkyBurrito] I still call them MAC machines for Money Access Center. [/QUOTE] I called them “MAC” machines for a long time, and then I moved out West and no one knew what I was talking about. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2006, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atm-machines/380687/34 "2006-11-17T14:06:59Z")
[QUOTE=CookingWithGas] A debit is not an increase in cash, it is an increase in an asset or a decrease in a liability. From the bank’s point of view, your account is a payable, because it’s your money, not theirs. It’s a liability. When you reduce a payable, it’s a debit, because now you reduce your liability. So the bank says they debit your account when they reduce the balance, and credit it when they increase the balance. If you keep your own books, you carry the same account as a receivable, which is an asset. If you make a deposit, the bank posts a credit to their books, and you post a debit to your books. (There are also offsetting posts in a double-entry accounting system but I won’t get into that.) [/QUOTE] Right, so it’s only a debit depending who is looking at it. And ATM machine is correct depending who is looking at it. ---
**Author:** ![control-z](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/eada6e/32.png) [@control-z](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/control-z)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2006, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atm-machines/380687/35 "2006-11-18T00:07:26Z")
[QUOTE=jabiru] I always count and so far, so good. I’m not sure how I’d go about proving that the ATM short changed me, if it ever happened. [/QUOTE] The ATM is a computer, it has a total of what it thinks it dispensed and if that doesn’t coincide with the amount of money physically in there, then that would back up your claim. Unless it shorted you $20 and gave somebody else $20 extra, then it would be a wash and they’d just have to take it on faith to keep you as a customer. Knowing machines, I’m sure the ATMs making mistakes is not that uncommon, so unless you make a habit of it they should believe you. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2006, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atm-machines/380687/36 "2006-11-18T00:37:07Z")
I had a ATM machine give me a $10 instead of a $20. I went into the bank to complain, and after being assured that the machine can only dispense $20 and I must be full of it, in walked my grandfather, who had, well lets just say a buttload of money in that bank. Once they realized this they quickly gave me my $10. But since that, I closed my account with that bank and rarely use ATM machines. [QUOTE=Bearflag70] Also, “ATM machine” and “PIN number” are redundant. [/QUOTE] Nobody seems to care ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2006, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atm-machines/380687/37 "2006-11-18T00:48:57Z")
[QUOTE=Omniscient] > [@](#): > > Originally Posted by **Cluricaun** > I still call them “Tyme Machines”, as that is what the first ones around here said on the side. I always count my money right there at the machine. Incidentally this will get you some very strange looks if you try asking a person for a location that never had that brand. I had an occasion where I was temporarily working on the West Coast, and as a life long Chicagoan I’d never heard the term before (they were Cash Stations round these parts in the day), and had a customer come up and ask me where they could find a “time machine”. I did a double, perhaps even a triple, take before asking the kook to explain exactly what they needed. Once they said “you know, a machine that spits out money” I got it. Silly people. [/QUOTE] I was so frakking confused when I started working at, of all places, the Renaissance Faire in Wisconsin, where they have all sorts of cutesy names for shit (“Why yes, M’lady, we take MasterCard and LadyVisa and New World Express! That will be 30 pounds 21 pence with the Lord Mayor’s taxxe!”) and patrons kept asking me where the “time machine” was! ---
**Author:** ![Canadjun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/76d3ee/32.png) [@Canadjun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Canadjun)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2006, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atm-machines/380687/38 "2006-11-18T00:49:07Z")
Does anybody still call them “Instant Tellers”? I don’t know whether any Canadian banks still officially call them that, and whether it is/was specific to a particular bank, but I’m still more used to that name than I am to ATM (or ATM machine for people that aren’t anal about what letters in abbreviations are short for 😉 ) ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2006, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atm-machines/380687/39 "2006-11-18T00:52:38Z")
[QUOTE=kanicbird] Nobody seems to care [/QUOTE] Apparently so. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2006, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atm-machines/380687/40 "2006-11-18T01:12:40Z")
[QUOTE=Canadjun] Does anybody still call them “Instant Tellers”? I don’t know whether any Canadian banks still officially call them that, and whether it is/was specific to a particular bank, but I’m still more used to that name than I am to ATM (or ATM machine for people that aren’t anal about what letters in abbreviations are short for 😉 ) [/QUOTE] I think that was Bank of Montreal, no? Is ‘ABM’ (‘automatic banking machine’) more common than ‘ATM’ in Canada? I just call them ‘money machines’. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atm-machines/380687.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atm-machines/380687.md?page=3)