Bank denies it issued ‘invalid’ notes in ATM machine

A Beijing bank branch is investigating how notes stamped with "invalid" found their way into one of its ATM machines.

Beijing Ditan branch of the International Construction and Business Bank (ICBC), in Dongcheng district, said Wednesday it never stamps notes like this.

The problem came to light when a man, surnamed Sun, noticed he had received two 100-yuan notes stamped with the characters for invalid when he withdrew his cash.

Sun said he spent nearly two hours beside the ATM, waiting for bank staff to come to solve the issue.

"I couldn't leave the ATM because I was worried the bank would say it was me who changed the notes," said Sun, adding he was cautious because he had previous bad experiences when he had problems with ATM withdrawals.

Eventually, said Sun, after a long wait, a bank official exchanged his notes for new ones and then offered him two telephone cards worth 200 yuan ($32).

Wang Meng, media officer of the Ditan ICBC, said that the bank does not possess a stamp to invalidate any bank note.

"We only stamp under three circumstances. The first is if the money is fake. The second and the third circumstances are when the note is not complete or damaged," Wang told the Global Times.

Another branch media officer, Zhang Jing, said the notes would have been deposited by another customer, and this cash is not checked until the machine is full.

"If it's not full, customers may withdraw the cash other people have deposited," she said, adding they only kept Sun waiting for 20 minutes, not two hours.