The world continues to change in ways I never see coming.
This year I had a pretty good holiday season (for me) selling my books. Consequently, I had some cash to deposit in my checking account. It wasn’t a lot (lower three figures), and I decided the easiest way to handle it would be to fill out a deposit slip and drop it in the night deposit.
So I was very surprised to receive a letter from my bank, subject: We may close your account if you deposit cash in our night box; please visit a branch or ATM to deposit cash. The letter goes on to explain how it is their responsibility to know their customers, so they only accept cash for personal accounts from authorized people who show an ID. Fortunately, they did process my deposit “as a courtesy.”
Silly me. I’ve always thought cash was a proper bank transaction. Since this area has been struggling with drug issues, I assume this policy has something to do with money laundering. Or is there a new federal regulation?
No matter. I have few cash transactions, and next time will just use the ATM. The international trend is toward a cashless society anyway (see “The Countries Where Cash is on the Verge of Extinction” by Lauren Comiteau, https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20160922-the-countries-where-cash-is-on-the-verge-of-extinction).
It’s just another reminder of how quickly things change.