Holy Cow! It looks like Bank of America is getting out of the banking business.
I went to my local branch, well, not my local branch because they closed that years ago, but to a sort of local branch. Normally, I write a check for the money that we need for the week. I would drive up to the teller window, shoot the check, ID, and a note explaining the denominations I needed to the teller. In return, the shuttle would bring back my ID, a receipt, and the money I requested in the appropriate denominations. Easy, right?
Well, no more. All of Bank of America’s drive tellers are gone. So, ok, I’ll use the ATM then ride around making one dollar purchases to get change for the twenty dollar bills that I practically have to hang myself on my seat belt to retrieve. No such luck. The machine choked out fifty dollar bills with a few twenties to make it look good. No denomination request screen, nothing. I used it twice to be sure.
So I pull into the parking lot and limped into the bank. I sat in one of the chairs and waited until someone noticed me. I explained the problem of fifties being useless to non-casino going folks because many stores do not accept them. I needed smaller denominations to pay the man who cuts the lawn, delivery people, etc. the story that followed horrified me.
Not only were ATMs going to be the only drive up banking, but they were all going to hack up fifties because of the nearby casino. To get smaller denominations, I would need to come into the bank, however, they were reducing the teller staff to one or two on duty. I figure eventually the teller will vanish from the Bank of America payroll all together.
Why? I was told that there is the technology and they want you to use it.
Now, I get this. I really do. I almost never touch a light switch in my house and most things I have are somehow automated. (Except laundry, I haven’t figured that out yet.) I can definitely ride the technology bus with the best of them. But there is always a need for services that only humans can provide.
Of course, I was also told there was a screen that I could select fifties or twenties. Nope, I tried it twice and never got that screen. I looked for it the second time around.
I suppose the powers that be at Bank of America tip the pizza guy with fifties, but I can’t. It must be nice to do so.
Bank of America is just a place for your auto deposit to go. It is a place for you to go to a scammable ATM and retrieve a portion of your money while scammers collect the rest. It is not a full service bank anymore. There is no service.
It’s just a thing.