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by TacticalCoder 1564 days ago
Then make it so that the duress code allows you to withdraw $300, not $2000.

The duress code could also mean instant warning sent to the police. This would deter some bad guys too if it was widely known.

2 comments

Don't change anything about the behavior of the ATM, just alert the police. If people are being robbed at gunpoint don't try and be a hero over a couple grand.
How many people chill out after an atm robbery? It seems a bit of over engineering when I would assume 99.9% of atm robbers are gone 30 seconds after an atm pin is typed.
Can you withdraw $2k from an ATM? I’ve never had a personal limit above a few hundred, and it never occurred to me to ask for a higher limit.
ATMs can be configured for all kinds of amounts. It's up to the bank.

In the mid-90's, my father's bank would let him specify a withdrawal amount down to the cent. He could take out $53.17, and the machine would spit out $53 in bills, and 17 cents would roll down a chute into the coin tray.

In the late 90's, I had a bank that allowed almost any withdrawal amount. I know I took out $700 once for an emergency car repair.

I think a big reason the banks limit the amount of money you can take out is so they don't have to refill the machines as often. It's a cost-saving measure for them.

I wasn't even thinking about the ATM's limit — all of my bank accounts have had limits around $200-350 per day.
There are higher limit ATMs and accounts. Some Chase and Citibank accounts go up to $5000 iirc.

Usually there’s a “rich people” account with different limits and services. I knew somebody once who could call their guy have money delivered by courier in NYC.

If you're changing money, you don't have to be a rich person to get money by courier if you have a Citibank account.

Citi's World Wallet program delivers money by courier or FedEx, depending on where in the world you happen to be when you order.

At least it did before COVID. Considering how Citi has cut branches and services since 2019, it might be different now.

I don't know about $2K but I definitely had a $1K limit on one of my ATM cards at one point.