New Yorkers looking for some last-minute cash to grab a midnight slice won’t have access to some Chase ATMs in New York City.
The bank announced this week that the around-the-clock ATMs will close at the same time as the branches, which is around 5 p.m. or 6 p.m., due to “rising crime and vagrancy,” the bank said in a tweet.
“Our apologies. We decide to close several ATM vestibules at 5 PM or 6 PM, aligning the hours of service to that of the normal branch hours, due to rising crime and vagrancy that occurred in these previously 24/7 vestibules,” the tweet said.
The lockdowns may be temporary, according to a Chase spokesperson. It remained unclear which locations would be affected by the shutdown.
“For the safety of our customers and employees, we may temporarily close some ATMs overnight,” the spokesperson said. “We can’t confirm how many ATMs are affected because it changes constantly.”
Some Chase customers were irked by the inconvenience and fired back at the bank’s announcement on social media.
“If ATMs aren’t available when the bank is closed, what’s the point??” an irate customer said in a tweet.
“Are you going to refund the ATM fees to customers when we get ripped off to use a bodega ATM to pay for our late-night slice of pizza because you can’t provide a basic service to account holders? I didn’t think so,” another customer tweeted.
The bank’s customer support service acknowledged in a tweet this would be an inconvenience for the company’s clients.
“I know this outcome wasn’t ideal, but your experience is still very important to us,” the customer support account said in response to one of the customers.
Hal Turner Commentary Opinion
This doesn't look good on many levels. First, the rise in violent crime in New York City is something I can attest to, because I live in the area. The crime has gotten horrifying and I have repeatedly warned people to "stay away from New York City" because I perceive it is so dangerous.
So on its face, what CHASE Bank is saying, is truthful. The crime is very bad.
Yet, I cannot shake this suspicion there is something ELSE going on.
I am of the view that Banks have been in very real trouble for quite awhile now, and I can't shake the feeling that this ATM closure might be related to that.
Moreover, if the general public starts getting accustomed to no ATM's at night, that's just one more way to slam everyone by surprise if banks actually collapse in one fell swoop.
We ought to watch carefully over the coming weeks to see if other banks start doing this and if it starts happening in areas where there is little to no crime. If the low or no crime areas start being shut down as well, then we have our answer about banks being in serious trouble.
