Bank Teller Told Me It Was Against The Law to Try and Swap Money from My Purse for Smaller Denominations!

tulip99 on 27/01/2022 - 14:57

Today I went to My State Bank and asked to swap 2 x $50 notes from my purse for 50 x $2 coins. The teller wanted my bank card and photo ID and when I said I had the cash in my purse, she said it was against the law and money laundering according to the anti-money laundering act to use the cash in my purse and I would have to make a withdrawal. I was shocked and told her I didn't have that much money in my account and I'd have to leave it.

Then I crossed the road and went to Westpac where I don't have an account and it was no problem, and I wasn't asked for ID or if I had an account there.

Is what she said true? I've never heard of that before.

The reason I wanted the $2 but didn't tell either of the tellers as it was my business, not theirs, is because of the Tik Tok money man and how some of the special $2 coins can be valuable.

https://www.tiktok.com/@thehistoryofmoney/video/704777404742…

Financial

Comments

  • firestormx on 27/01/2022 - 15:04
    +68

    Not sure about the anti-money laundering act, but perhaps you could have deposited the 2 $50 notes into your account over the counter and withdraw them as $2 coins from the teller? As the deposit was in cash, it should reflect instantly on your account and be available for withdrawal immediately.

    • tulip99 on 27/01/2022 - 15:34
      +12

      Didn't think of that, LOL. I was so shocked at what she said.

      • AustriaBargain on 27/01/2022 - 16:45
        +35

        Maybe she just couldn't be bothered cracking open two rolls of coins.

        • kerfuffle on 27/01/2022 - 16:47
          +16

          But each roll is $50, so no need to crack any rolls open?

          • harrywwc on 28/01/2022 - 07:21
            +2

            @kerfuffle: eh - I know I would have them do so, or I would do so in front of them.

            Whenever I've taken money to the bank in rolls (or bags) they open them and count them in front of me. fair enough too.

            having said that, I will return the courtesy and crack the rolls and count them in front of them.

            mistakes happen on both sides of the counter - less likely their side, but can still happen.

            • KBZ on 28/01/2022 - 09:19

              @harrywwc: Eh… I've noticed alot of noodlers on tiktok who have rolls of $2 coins they don't check from the bank.
              But it's understandable the bank would definitely be checking you as a depositor.

            • sAmiZZle on 28/01/2022 - 11:33

              @harrywwc: They do this because people try to scam them by putting washers in the roll and just the one at the top and the bottom are the coin that the roll is supposed to be made up of all the way through

              • harrywwc on 28/01/2022 - 12:25

                @sAmiZZle:

                • understood. And I agree, when I am depositing coins, I expect them to unroll and re-count (actually, they throw it into a machine now and it does it - lazy bums! :)

                I was also making the point that I will re-count when I receive a roll (or a wrap of notes) because I know mistakes happen - although less likely with a bank - best to be safe than out of some dosh.

        • htc on 28/01/2022 - 19:25
          +1

          The teller should have gave that option to op.

    • Trance N Dance on 27/01/2022 - 19:50

      The few times I've tried changing denominations at ANZ, the cashier tells me that's how they have to do it. But at least they tell you the work around straight up.

      (It might have something to do with the dispensing machines being tied to withdrawal transactions, so they can't just dump blah and blah amounts without an attached withdrawal.)

    • WookieMonster on 28/01/2022 - 12:36
      +2

      That would be a good suggestion for the OP in their case, as MyState (and Westpac) do not charge any fees for any assisted withdrawals you make through a teller.

      However, if OP was a CommBank customer and did that at a CommBank branch, they’d be charged a $3 assisted withdrawal fee when withdrawing the 50x $2 coins.

    • Xistn on 27/01/2022 - 15:09
      +3

      Today I went to My State Bank

      Then I crossed the road and went to Westpac

      • avoidfullprice on 27/01/2022 - 15:28
        +2

        No problems at Westpac lol

      • BargainMe on 29/01/2022 - 15:51
        +1

        My State Bank is the name of the bank

  • cainen on 27/01/2022 - 15:06
    +13

    Sounds a bit strange. In my local shopping centre CBA has a machine that let's you change notes for smaller denominations including coins. Though you do have to insert your CBA or Bankwest card to use it.

  • AdosHouse on 27/01/2022 - 15:10
    +18

    LOL at that $2 being worth $35. Only 1 million minted.

    • JimmyF on 27/01/2022 - 17:36
      +13

      and OP thought they have 1 in 50 chance of getting one!

    • AustriaBargain on 28/01/2022 - 12:35
      +4

      Well it really is one in a million.

    • upsidedownlemon on 29/01/2022 - 01:10

      I found two of them in circulation and sold for a profit. Not far fetched

    • serpserpserp on 30/01/2022 - 15:39

      Got a picture of these special coins?

  • afoveht on 27/01/2022 - 15:12
    +11

    Many years ago I would walk into a bank with $100, get it changed to 50c pieces, go to the car and pick out the goodies (Charles and Di 81, Cook 77, etc. always flooded with commonwealth games 82), replenish taken coins with standard 50s, bring back to bank and change back to $100, and repeat at a few more banks in that suburb. Could do this 3 or 4 times within an hour. Good times. I have no idea where those 50s are now, probably spent them on smokes in desperation back in the day.

    • freefall101 on 27/01/2022 - 16:06
      +6

      For years as a kid I used to always swap out my pocket money for whatever rarity ones, bought sealed packs whenever I could and such.

      Years later I learned my little brother had used it as a line of credit for himself, take out whatever coins I collected and paid (some) of it back with normal coins. Probably would have been worth a bit these days (even had a bunch of round silver 50c pieces, he spent most of them too, little bastard).

    • Ryk on 28/01/2022 - 09:05
      +1

      Cook 1970

  • EightImmortals on 27/01/2022 - 15:19
    +28

    "Today I went to My State Bank and asked to swap 2 x $50 notes from my purse for 50 x $2 coins."

    Woah! The great $100 money laundering scam of 2022?
    You should have asked for the manager and if that didn't work ask them to show you the legislation. Sound like total BS to me.

    • tulip99 on 27/01/2022 - 15:36

      That's what I thought!

    • madrigal on 28/01/2022 - 12:24
      +4

      It is stupid, it does nothing to provide a legitimate source for the money. If this was how money laundering worked, criminals would just team up and swap their cash and then it is somehow clean.

      • Kangal on 28/01/2022 - 18:44
        +2

        No judge, I'm not guilty.
        See this isn't even the same coins I received when I sold the drugs. The prosecution has no evidence.

        Judge: …well, I'm convinced :\

        Cops: dammit, we gotta have a chat with the banks after this >(

      • supersabroso on 30/01/2022 - 12:24

        Yeah exactly hahahaha!!!!! OP, if you want to get rich, start using DeFi with crypto stablecoins.

    • Lord Fart Bucket on 28/01/2022 - 12:28
      +3

      The great $100 money laundering scam of 2022?

      Everyone knows you do this at the pokies or use a backpacker and a CBA deposit ATM.

  • life is suffering on 27/01/2022 - 15:21

    Maybe they think this is the beggar scam in Sydney CBD

  • djones145 on 27/01/2022 - 15:25
    +5

    next time head to the casino or a pub with pokies lol
    then you will get monitored!

    i remember when i use to get notes, place it in a vending machine and cash it out
    cause i wanted one dollar coins for street fighter lol, and 1 dollar so i could spin it for 3 credits :P

    • WhyAmICommenting on 28/01/2022 - 16:19

      I was known as the “60 second man” for my primary school prowess at Street Fighter II.

      Pretty sure I’m not much better now…

      • bondy28 on 28/01/2022 - 17:26
        +2

        Are you sure that was the reason they called you the "60 second man"?

        • WhyAmICommenting on 28/01/2022 - 17:37

          Uh, in grade 5, I’m pretty sure - I didn’t have any pub** yet.

      • djones145 on 30/01/2022 - 21:52

        who was ur weapon of choice

        I was a ryu man

        • WhyAmICommenting on 31/01/2022 - 08:38

          Good choice. I used Chun Li, not sure why now.

  • djkelly69 on 27/01/2022 - 15:33
    +29

    How is this not a Pam post??

    • CrowReally on 27/01/2022 - 16:05
      +5

      Missing the crucial step asking for help to do something otherwise simple to start with before things got blown out of proportion.

    • smartazz104 on 28/01/2022 - 08:02
      +8

      Because it seems like a pretty straightforward request. Pam would have asked for each coin to be cleaned or something.

    • jjjaar on 28/01/2022 - 10:20
      +6

      Pam was the cashier behind the counter. Get ready for a “wait until you hear what my customer tried to do today” post.

  • steven6 on 27/01/2022 - 15:38
    +8

    Always use an Aldi bag when money laundering

    • holdenmg on 27/01/2022 - 17:21

      The difference between Aldi and Comm Bank is Aldi will charge you for the bag. :+)

    • Krankite on 28/01/2022 - 08:40
      +2

      Best way to launder money is to take 100 dirty coins to Aldi and subtly swap out the coins in other peoples trollies.

    • b0rnwithabeard on 28/01/2022 - 08:51
      +6

      i usually use a big hessian bag with a dollar sign on it

  • rektrading on 27/01/2022 - 15:58
    +19

    Then I crossed the road and went to Westpac where I don't have an account and it was no problem,

    Westoac was fined $1.3B in 2020 for money laundering. That explains why they're willing to bend the rules when they want.

    • ThithLord on 27/01/2022 - 16:00
      +4

      Beat me by 2 mins lol

      • rektrading on 27/01/2022 - 16:01
        +5

        I didn't mean to steal your post.
        Take care.

    • entropysbane on 30/01/2022 - 10:58

      To be clear, westpac discovered the money laundering had been happening and self reported to teh authoritehs.
      Westpac was fined because it had happened and its crappy software didn’t pick it up when it should have.

      • rektrading on 30/01/2022 - 11:04

        Westpac and other legacy banks (HSBC, Goldman Sachs) facilitate money laundering.

        They should get fined more every time they get caught.

        • entropysbane on 30/01/2022 - 11:05

          Yes. My point is that the regulator didn’t detect it. The bank did.

  • ThithLord on 27/01/2022 - 16:00
    +6

    Wow, crazy that Westpac were happy to take your money, even though it contravenes Money-Laundering laws (though I cannot comment on if using money from your purse is considered money laundering)

    21 Oct 2020
    The Federal Court of Australia has today ordered Westpac to pay a $1.3 billion penalty for its breaches of the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Act 2006 (AML/CTF Act).

    • smurftastic on 08/02/2022 - 15:21

      Late reply, but yeah, that's not money laundering. Money laundering isn't physically changing the money you have, it's legitimising the source.

      I'm not an expert, so very open to being corrected but this is how I think laundering works:
      e.g. I got $1mill from selling drugs.
      Now if I put that money in the bank, or buy things with it, red flags will go up and I may be asked where I got that money from. If I don't have a legitimate answer then I can get in trouble with the cops and my money and property seized as being suspected proceeds of criminal activities.

      So I buy a business e.g. car wash (Breaking Bad) and I have 10 cars a day go through. However on my books I say 20 cars a day go through, and I deposit my drug money as the income from those extra 10 phantom cars
      OR I go to the Casino, put my mill into chips, play a bit and lose a little money, then cash it in and say I won it all

  • tulip99 on 27/01/2022 - 16:07

    UPDATE: I've gone through the $2 I got today and one of them is the 2019 with the Jody Clark portrait of the Queen!

    • TheBird on 27/01/2022 - 16:17
      +4

      Is that a good thing? If so, what is its valuation now?

      • SBOB on 27/01/2022 - 16:17
        +63

        $2

        • TheBird on 27/01/2022 - 16:18
          +4

          Well… better than being worth less I suppose.

        • SBOB on 27/01/2022 - 17:32
          +21

          You can search eBay sold listings right now and see plenty unsold, a couple sold for $3 or $5 shipped recently…
          Seems pretty 'known'

          • tulip99 on 27/01/2022 - 17:37
            -6

            @SBOB: What a shame :-(

            • zoombie on 27/01/2022 - 19:54
              +1

              @tulip99: With society going more and more cashless and that portrait most likely be the last sitting of her Majesty, your coin could be valuable some day.

              ps I did a quick google search, there's a set of them with 5c, 10c etc..you should collect them all :)

      • Haulien on 28/01/2022 - 02:28
        +2

        Circulated, $2. Uncirculated, maybe $5-15, depending if it's from a roll or bag.

    • SBOB on 27/01/2022 - 16:17

      Not sure that's worth an !
      :)

    • capslock on 27/01/2022 - 21:31
      +1

      Take the remaining 49 $2 coins plus a couple of $1 coins to the same teller and see if she will swap it to 2 x $50 notes. It will be interesting to see if she again accuses you of money laundering.

      • andrek on 28/01/2022 - 05:45
        +3

        … and this time take it out of your purse before you enter the bank

      • entropysbane on 30/01/2022 - 11:00

        She accused the OP of nothing.
        It is regulatory overreach with which the teller must comply.

  • salmon123 on 27/01/2022 - 16:31
    +2

    HSBC are notorious for making up this non-sense too. I once made the mistake of depositing a few hundred dollars over the counter, only to be giving the third degree about the "origin of the funds", etc. Complete BS, because I could deposit the money at the ATM outside the branch without anyone batting an eye. The teller could've done whatever AML checks they wanted to (or were required to), without interrogating me.

    Moral of the story is, there's lot of little men, guarding absolutely nothing, working at banks.

    Wouldn't surprise me if the teller at My State Bank was a former HSBC employee.

    • twist3d on 27/01/2022 - 17:07
      +5

      Because HSBC got fined $1.9b for serving as a middleman for Mexican drug cartels:

      https://www.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2013/investing-n…

      • salmon123 on 27/01/2022 - 17:10
        +10

        They've been fined a dozen or more times for various misdeeds.

        I can guarantee that none of those guys were walking into a branch depositing a few hundred bucks. Their whole compliance program finished up with tellers harassing branch customers for no good reason, while the wheelers and dealers in head office continue to do whatever they feel like to make a buck.

    • Antikythera on 28/01/2022 - 18:26
      +2

      done whatever AML checks they wanted to (or were required to), without interrogating me.

      in fact AML check should be done without informing the customer.
      if you have any suspicion at all you should gather as much info as possible without alerting the customer. then pass that information along to the relevant authority. not even supposed to discuss the matter with other staff where practical.

    • Yola on 05/02/2022 - 08:08
      +2

      HSBC is the most bureaucratic bank ever closely followed by Citi.

  • pegaxs on 27/01/2022 - 16:45
    +6

    Unless you wanted more than $10,000 in $2 coins and were doing it in $50 lots every 5 mins, then the bank teller is a dunce. Only suspicious transaction od large amounts, or any large amount $10,000 or more need to be put though AUSTRAC.

    Some person wanting $100 in $2 coins is not money laundering. I would take it up with the branch manager and let them know that some of their staff need some clearer AUSTRAC training.

    • salmon123 on 27/01/2022 - 16:57
      +1

      Some person wanting $100 in $2 coins is not money laundering

      Perhaps they thought the OP was a gangster looking to make a sock full of pennies.

      • DashCam AKA Rolts on 27/01/2022 - 17:07
        +5

        Yeah, nah. Just hold a roll in each hand when you're punching on!

        • AdosHouse on 27/01/2022 - 17:18
          +1

          Not the 50c rolls, you peg those bastards. Trust me, it hurts.

    • tulip99 on 27/01/2022 - 17:30
      -1

      Thanks :-)

    • gromit on 28/01/2022 - 07:58
      +5

      Unless you wanted more than $10,000 in $2 coins and were doing it in $50 lots every 5 mins, then the bank teller is a dunce. Only suspicious transaction od large amounts, or any large amount $10,000 or more need to be put though AUSTRAC.

      The 10,000 limit is simply the mandatory limit for reporting regardless of whether it is suspicious for one type of transaction, being under $10,000 can still result in it being reported or being required to be reported. Money Laundering can be done in all sorts of methods, while the OP's sounds unlikely it could actually be a method. e.g. send someone to go visit 10 or 20 bank branches, exchange $100 for $2 coins, then deposit those coins in your bank as proceeds from a coin op business, money successfully laundered and for a fraction of the cost of doing it in a casino.

      • capslock on 28/01/2022 - 08:50
        +1

        No money launderer is going to waste their time laundering $100 in this way.

        • b0rnwithabeard on 28/01/2022 - 08:55

          when done in small amounts like this, it can also be a coordinated operation too; get a dozen people to go to as many different banks to make small requests like this and it adds up.

          Quite often tellers are trained in a particular method where there’s a set list of transaction “types” and if anything even slightly smells weird or doesn’t fall into the categories of accepted transaction types, they’re told to not process the request

          • johnwinds on 29/01/2022 - 16:08

            @b0rnwithabeard: How is changing denominations money laundering? You start out with $100 in cash in one form and end up with $100 in cash in smaller notes/coins.

            You usually need to deposit, withdraw, transfer (usually take out a loan and pay it out) to actually obfuscate the source of the funds.

        • gromit on 28/01/2022 - 08:56

          why not? getting a lowly minion to do this daily would net half a million a year, tradition methods cost far more and return far less.

          • capslock on 28/01/2022 - 09:15
            +1

            @gromit: To do half a million a year, the lowly minions will need to do it 20 times every single day (excluding weekends). If the repeat branch visits doesn't raise suspicion, the multiple $100 daily deposits in the bank account will, not to mention the minions need to be paid and transported to branches all over the city.

            • gromit on 28/01/2022 - 09:19

              @capslock: There are literally hundreds of bank branches in Sydney or Melbourne, rotate through them visiting the same one no more than once or twice a week. The cost of that minion is chicken feed compared to the cost of doing it in a casino or other methods. laundering through other methods can literally return cents on the dollar so even if it costs them $100k or more you could still be a long way ahead.

            • crentist on 28/01/2022 - 10:45

              @capslock: There wasn't even any deposit here. Just cash into cash. That's not laundering.

              Possibly the start of some more elaborate scheme? Maybe OPs "legitimate business" is cleaning wishing wells?

          • madrigal on 28/01/2022 - 12:18
            +2

            @gromit: So the scheme is to trade half a million dollars in unverified cash for half a million dollars in unverified cash?

            • gromit on 28/01/2022 - 12:28

              @madrigal: you don't understand money laundering. The idea is to convert illegally gained cash into something that can be pumped through a seemingly legitimate business where it is normal to only deal in cash and receipts aren't needed. You can then bank that money as part of that business, pay your taxes and the result is money you can spend without fear the police/ATO etc are going to come down on you for living beyond your income. Buying a yacht, sports car etc when you are supposedly unemployed or earning 100k a year raises red flags and is a common way to get caught, hence why they launder the money even if it means they lose a large chunk of it.

              • madrigal on 28/01/2022 - 14:15
                +1

                @gromit: How does exchanging money at a bank help this process?

                • gromit on 28/01/2022 - 14:47

                  @madrigal: Cash businesses are getting fewer and fewer, with a coin op business if you deposit stacks of 100/50/20 dollar notes it will ring alarm bells, by converting it to coins you could then deposit as operating income on a daily basis into the business account without raising red flags and without ever needing receipts or any paper trail.

                  • madrigal on 28/01/2022 - 14:54

                    @gromit: Where do people get the coins to spend at the coin op if it is illegal to exchange notes for coins?

                    • gromit on 28/01/2022 - 15:03

                      @madrigal: its not illegal.

                      • madrigal on 28/01/2022 - 15:12

                        @gromit: I agree exchanging money is not money laundering.

                        • gromit on 28/01/2022 - 16:45

                          @madrigal: absolutely brilliant logic. You probably need to go work for Crown or one of the banks, tell them you can get all the prosecutions thrown out against them as exchanging money, gambling etc are all legal therefore they can't be prosecuted for enabling money laundering.

                          • madrigal on 28/01/2022 - 16:48

                            @gromit: Maybe you can work for the State and argue anything that facilitates money laundering is money laundering and you can prosecute people for carrying bags because they can be used to carry the money from a laundering operation to the bank.

                            • gromit on 28/01/2022 - 17:44

                              @madrigal: Why? I am not the one making dumb arse absolutes about the laws. You seem incapable of reconciling the fact that context matters

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