An Australian man has gone on a rampage at his bank after a teller asked him curious questions as he tried to withdraw a large sum of money.
Jonathan de Jonk, from Melbourne, uploaded the expletive-laden rant to social media on Wednesday, claiming his bank had peppered him with questions when he tried to make a cash withdrawal to buy a car.
“I really can’t believe how difficult it is to get cash at the moment,” Mr de Jonk said.
“I was at my local bank and I was buying a car, so I thought, I need to get some cash out.”
‘Fuck dude, the questions. She said, “I need to see proof of what you’re buying, like an invoice,” and I said, “It’s off the market, how can I do that?”
‘Since when was it a problem for me to go get my own money?
‘Why do I have to give you, a person I don’t know, a reason for it?’
In Australia, banks are required to report any cash transactions of more than $10,000 or more to AUSTRAC, a federal government monitoring agency.
Jonathan de Jonk, from Melbourne, uploaded the expletive-laden rant to TikTok on Wednesday
This mandatory reporting aims to protect the integrity of the nation’s banking system by uncovering money laundering and other criminal activities, such as terrorist financing.
However, most banks have gone further and asked customers why they are withdrawing money in excess of $2,000.
The NAB said earlier this year that staff questions about cash withdrawals are designed to protect customers from falling victim to scams.
“We’re doing it to protect you,” said Larna Manson, retail client executive at NAB.
‘By asking you a few simple questions, we can help you keep your money safe. So if it’s a gift for your girlfriend or a gift for yourself, it’s fine.
“But if someone is pressuring you to transfer money as part of a scam, we’re here to help.”
Mr de Jonk’s tirade comes after Commonwealth Bank halted a controversial move to move all ‘Full Access’ customers to ‘Smart Access’ accounts, which included a $3 ‘assisted withdrawal fee’.
The charge affects customers when they withdraw cash from bank branches, post offices or by phone, but does not include ATM withdrawals.
However, after almost 24 hours of attacks from all sides of politics, the bank’s head of retail services, Angus Sullivan, announced a temporary reversal of the charge for those likely to take a hit to their pocketbooks.
De Jonk’s rant comes after Commonwealth Bank announced a $3 cash withdrawal fee for customers, before reversing the decision following a backlash.
For the estimated 100,000 customers who would have been worse off, the bank would not apply the change for at least the next six months.
Sullivan admitted that the bank blew up the announcement, adding that most of those moving accounts would have been in a better position.
“A little less than 90 per cent would have been better off moving to the Smart Access account, which has a lower monthly fee, but… it has an assisted withdrawal fee,” he told Sydney’s 2GB radio.
“We’re going to continue to move those customers…for those customers that might have been in a worse position, we’re going to pause the migration and reach out to all of those customers.”
Age, service and disability pensioners, customers under 18 years of age and people with disabilities who require the use of branches would no longer have to pay the fee.
It is also waived if more than $2,000 is deposited into the account in a month.