Here is a post which is going to give you the top 7 reason the ATM might swallow your card. A few of us have been victims of our ATM cards being seized by the Automated Teller machine and when this happens, it leaves us devastated.
I can remember the last time this occurred to me, I was so vexed cause I needed the money real quick and had to wait for days before I could get my card back.
Here Are 7 Reasons Why The ATM Swallows An ATM Card
An ATM (Automated Teller Machine) is a self-help electronic banking device which is networked with financial institutions and performs financial transactions for client.
Modern ATMs can perform a variety of functions including cash withdrawal, cash transfer, cash deposit, utility bills payment, balance inquiry, obtaining the bank statement etc. Despite of all the advantages, ATM cards, Debit cards or Credit cards which are used at ATMs may get swallowed by the machine. And below are the reasons this could happen;
1. Having no balance or insufficient balance in account: Some ATMs are configured or mis-configured to hold your debit card or ATM card if you have no balance or insufficient balance in your bank account. This is not ethically right, but my dear brothers and sisters, it happens.
2. Inserting the card wrongly: Many of us have the basic idea of inserting your card into the machine, and for those who don’t, you can find an arrow on one side of the card which indicates in which direction you have to push it into the card inlet of ATM. When you insert your card the wrong way, the machine is meant to return it, but some berserk machine might just hang on to your card.
3. Using a faulty or broken card: Every ATM card has a magnetic strip on the back which carries necessary details. If for some reason the magnetic strip fades away, the ATM will not be able to read the card and might hold it instead of returning it to you. Same is true in case of using broken or bent card.
4. Using an expired card: I wonder why some people still bother trying to use expired ATM cards. If your card has crossed the expiry date, it automatically becomes useless, so putting it into the cash machine might just get it swallowed.
5. Out of order ATM: This is one of the most common reason for this problem, and no other person is to blame than the banks. An out of order ATM can swallow your card instead of returning it. The major cause for this problem could be the failure of any mechanical or electronic part inside the machine. When next you join a queue and notice everyone is avoiding a machine, do yourself the favour of also avoiding that machine.
6. Entering PIN incorrectly several times: If you have forgotten your actual PIN for any reason and enter it incorrectly several times, the ATM will hold your card considering it a stolen card.
7. Using a card in wrong ATM: An ATM is configured to support certain services like Visa, MasterCard, Discover, Maestro, American Express etc. If you insert a card into such an ATM which does not display the logo of your service, your card might be swallowed by the machine.
There you have it on this post. I hope you found this piece helpful.
