I would like to inform all ATM cardholders through your prestigious newspaper that on April 12, 2012 I had drawn Rs 15000/- from an ATM of a private bank in Malir Cantt. In ATM transaction it issued fourteen currency notes of Rs 1000 and two currency notes of Rs 500/-. But no Transaction Slip came out from the ATM Machine. Next day out of these currency notes I took four currency notes of Rs 1000/- each to National Bank of Pakistan Malir Cantt Branch to pay my PTCL bills. But on checking they declared one currency note of Rs 1000/- bearing S-No. CH5371373 as fake and stamped it as cancelled. I immediately brought this in to the notice of the manager of the bank whose ATM machine conducted this transaction and requested to check their record as it must be having this Serial number in the ATM transaction took place in their ATM machine on April 12. But he did not agree and started defending his bank. However, I avoided to take the matter up to their head office and also did not report to the Vigilance Department of the State Bank of Pakistan for investigation as it would have created an unpleasant situation for bank manager and defamed the bank.
I suggest that after every ATM transaction a slip having serial numbers of all the currency notes should come out from ATM machine so that there is a proof of all the currency notes which were issued by bank through their ATM Machine. I also request ATM cardholder to be vigilant and they must check all the currency notes after transaction that these are not fake.
If incidents like this start happening then people might loose their confidence in ATM transaction and also while withdrawing cash from the banks. I suggest that people should keep currency notes checking device which is of fountain pen size and is available in general stores and electric goods shops.
SQN LDR (RETD) S. AUSAF HUSAIN,
Karachi, April 14.