calvin_pee_bank

Today my opinion of our banking system dropped a couple of notches from its already-low point on the respectability scale.

About an hour ago I needed to go to the ATM. I was on foot several blocks away from my bank, but there were two other banks within one block. To avoid ridiculous ATM charges, I decided to do a cash advance off my debit card. Exact same result as an ATM withdrawal, but without the unexplainable fees.

I had actually done this a few times over the past year at this particular bank. I walked in, handed my driver’s license and my debit card to the teller and said, “I need a cash advance for $500 please.”

Everything proceeded as normal. She came back about 2 minutes later, handed me the debit card and said, “I’ll be right back. I have to make a copy of your license.” Then she returned, gave me my license, and asked how I wanted the bills. “Four big bills and the rest in 20s please,” I replied. She counted out four 100s, two 20s, and then searched all over her workstation for 20s.

“I only have two 20s,” she told me.

I just looked at her. I wanted to ask the question most would ask: “Am I in a bank?” But I didn’t want to be facetious. Instead I just stared at her and let her words echo in her own head.

How silly is it for a bank to not have more than two 20 dollar bills in it? Obviously this wasn’t the case, but it’s still silly for a teller to be so lazy that she doesn’t automatically get more 20s. This part of the visit isn’t what lowered banks on my respectability scale. Eventually, she found the needed 20s in another drawer.

She handed my the money and then said, “Now all I need is your fingerprint on this receipt here.”

[insert buzzer sound]

Wrong. Sorry, the transaction is over. The opportunity to have a real chance at invading my privacy has surely passed. The money is already in my pocket and the signature ink has already dried on the receipt.

“I refuse,” I replied.

“What?”

“Can you tell me why you need my fingerprint?”

“We just need to get it for the cash advance.” Hmm… this brought back childhood memories of “Just because!”

I explained, “There is no legal requirement, so I refuse your request. You can write that on the receipt. Thank you.” And I left.

On my walk back to my office, I was thinking about whether I would have refused if she had asked before giving me the money. I know that in the past I had given my fingerprint for cashing a check at a bank. I admitted to myself that I may have given my fingerprint to the bank just then if the teller wasn’t so unprofessional about the order in which she processed my cash advance request.

We are traveling light years away from the liberty our country was founded on… one millimeter at a time in the name of convenience, safety, and security. Next time that a banker asks me for a fingerprint, regardless of the circumstances, I will refuse.

To illustrate, albeit in a different scenario, why our privacy is so important I’ll draw your attention to something that should surprise you as much as it did me. Here’s a law school professor giving a lecture on why you should never talk to the police: