ATMs May Start Disappearing From Your Neighborhood Bar
SAN JOSE (KPIX 5) -- Some small business owners are facing a tough decision and it could result in you heading to the bank more often before a night on the town.
In San Jose, the ATM in the back of your favorite bar could be yanked out of businesses across the country as early as next month as banks shift the responsibility for fraud to the ATM's owners.
We've all done it at some point, pulled money out of an ATM at a bar or corner grocery store. The lure of quick, convenient cash too easy to pass up.
Henry's Hi-Life manager Jimmy Dillsaver said, "I'm concerned they might just disappear."
Dillsaver says his customers often grab cash from the ATM before heading to a San Jose Sharks game or other event downtown.
But if those ATMs aren't equipped with the latest technology -- able to read the new and more secure chip cards -- their owners would be on the hook for any fraudulent withdrawals.
Dillsaver says businesses have been grappling with a similar policy for about a year.
He said the credit card company would come back and say, 'No, it's an in-house problem here...You didn't use the proper security' and then the small business would be told they were responsible for any fraudulent withdrawals.
But it could cost thousands of dollars to either upgrade or replace the machines altogether. A move that might not make either dollars or sense for independent operators.
"If it won't accept the chip reader, we usually just give the credit card back to the customer and tell them we can't use this card," Dillsaver said.
There is nothing that requires businesses to remove the old ATMs, but they could be responsible for any fraud that takes place at that ATM.
