Rabobank sends the client a letter about cash withdrawal – what do you say? – Cashier

There is currently some commotion on Twitter over a letter received from a Rabobank customer. The letter states that the bank has noticed that the customer frequently withdraws cash. The bank is asking this customer to withdraw less cash and also emphasizes the risks of cash and alternative payment methods. “An invasion of privacy”, “Not normal” and “Inappropriate”, can be read here and there on Twitter. How about that? Kassa contacts Rabobank for information.

An anonymous scan of this letter has been circulating on Twitter since yesterday and has caused quite a stir: the term “Rabobank” is therefore at the top of the “trend” list at the time of writing.

A good reason to dive. Why is there a lot going on about this letter and what exactly is going on? This is what we will talk about now.

The letter – which deals with ‘Cash withdrawals’ – reads, among other things: “We have noticed that you regularly withdraw cash from your account. With this letter, we inform you about the risks of cash and ask you to reduce the cash withdrawals” .

Furthermore, Rabobank offers the customer “a number of alternatives to using cash”. The authenticity of the letter was confirmed by Rabobank: the bank claims to do so from its role as gatekeeper of the financial system and specifies that the WWFT (WWFT (Prevention of Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act) requires the bank to prevent the money laundering and terrorist financing prevention.

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You can read the necessary negative reactions on Twitter. The letter is seen by many angry Twitter users as intriguing and an invasion of privacy. The bank is also reminded that cash is simply legal tender and that it is not appropriate for the bank to interfere in the way customers make payments.

Furthermore, the letter is placed by some in the context of the alleged war on cash, the theory that states that banks and governments intend to completely eliminate cash and want all payment transactions to be digital. The reason for this would be that banks and governments want to have full control over your spending and they want to determine where you spend your money.

Reason why people are angry and/or worried. But is that right?

Online you regularly come across theories about the disappearance of cash. The ferocious reactions that this letter arouses can therefore be placed in this context. However, this is not actually the case: it position of the European Central Bank (ECB) is that cash will not go away. And about this they say the following:

“For now, cash will remain the standard means of payment. Cash represents value, can be reliably authenticated and distinguished from counterfeits, and does not require third-party intervention to process payments. No other payment instrument combines these three elements in as effective as cash.”

It is true that digital and contactless payments have become much more common and, as a result, the use of cash is automatically less common than it was ten or twenty years ago, for example. But, says the ECB: “Digital payments may be convenient for many people, but not for everyone. Contactless payments will not replace cash as a means of payment, but will co-exist as an alternative”.

And De Nederlandsche Bank, in cooperation with the organizations involved in payments, also strives for the availability of cash. They do it in the so-called Cash agreementof which they state: “The goal of these agreements is that people who still want to pay with cash can continue to do so despite the ongoing digitization of retail payments”.

Despite online claims to the contrary, cash will continue to exist as legal tender for the time being. It is therefore not a question of the disappearance of cash.

Rabobank – like all banks, by the way – keeps an eye on your credits and debits. They’re open about that too, so there’s really no question of secrecy in this case. Furthermore, on the other hand, this can also concern, for example, fraud prevention, from which you as a customer benefit: Think of the bank that reports and blocks suspicious transactions in good time.

But to return to this particular case, as the “keeper of the financial system,” the bank says it needs to have a logical explanation of the origin of the money available to customers. And this has to do with the aforementioned Wwft.

Long story short: there’s no need to panic. The bank doesn’t care how much you pay for groceries each week, whether you withdraw a hundred euros from the wall each week, how much that dinner bill cost you, and if after all you didn’t buy cigarettes by mistake, it’s on the (automated) check for unusual or obvious signs which could indicate money laundering. The bank is simply obliged to do this.

We also contacted Rabobank ourselves in response to the commotion that had arisen. What about that letter exactly? How often are customers contacted? And what amounts should we consider?

First of all, Rabobank assures us that there are no plans to phase out cash and that there are sufficient legitimate reasons for customers to use cash: “We are committed to making cash available and accessible together with other parties. Cash has flown legal, there will always be people who have cash on them and want to use it, for a drink on the terrace, to keep an eye on expenses and so on, and that of course is fine”.

However, the Rabobank spokesman continues: “At the same time, cash is also a popular tool for criminals to launder money. make customers less vulnerable to criminals and their businesses, for example by warning of these risks when using large amounts or high denomination cash and by pointing out safer, faster and easier to use alternatives.”

And then practical: what is the chance that you as a customer will receive such a letter? In general, we can say that the possibility is very slim: it must really be large and substantial amounts, says the Rabobank spokesman. And while we’ve agreed not to mention specific amounts, we can tell that this is serious money and that with regular cash withdrawals, there’s no rooster eyeing your cash withdrawals with a suspicious eye.

In short, the Twitter hype is somewhat of a storm in a teacup. In theory, customers may receive such a letter, but in practice the vast majority of them never come close to the so-called signal amount in terms of debit card behavior, whereby certain control mechanisms come into effect and tracking.

In other words, there isn’t much to it.

Source: De Nederlandsche Bank, European Central Bank, Rabobank