A Commonwealth Bank customer was left baffled after being grilled about why they wanted to withdraw money from their account.
A customer reported visiting their local bank branch before the scheduled maintenance on September 27, which was expected to affect online banking, payments, and merchant services.
On arrival, they approached a teller and asked to withdraw $300 before claiming they were met with ‘invasive’ questions.
‘I asked to get cash out so I knew I would be OK. They then proceeded to ask very invasive questions,’ they wrote on Reddit.
Questions like “What are your plans for the money?”, “Why request $300?” and “Are you involved in anything illegal?” were asked, along with “Has someone instructed you to withdraw cash for a scam?” or “Is anyone’s safety in danger?”.
‘Like dude, I’m just getting cash out because of the outage that’s it.’
Social media users shared their outrage, with many claiming they were also questioned vigorously when trying to withdraw cash.
One person explained they were questioned when they deposited $600 into their own account.
An individual went to their Commonwealth Bank branch and encountered various inquiries when attempting to withdraw $300 from their account (representative image).
The person explained, ‘I was interrogated for nearly five minutes regarding the source of the funds and why it was considered a “large” sum, as well as whether it might be connected to “illegal activities”.’
They felt uncomfortable and unprepared to justify themselves against what they saw as unfounded accusations.
‘The fact is that these tellers should NOT be asking invasive questions in such a brazenly accusatory manner, it’s disgusting.
The customer expressed feeling unjustly treated as a suspect when simply seeking access to their money, stressing that individuals should retrieve their earnings without facing impolite and unhelpful bank staff.
Another person commented: ‘This does seem to be the norm now. I mean I get it for large amounts of money, but why they grill you over $300 is a bit strange.’
A third person added: ‘Typical of the banks, you have to ask for permission to use your own money, how ridiculous.’
Others explained the questions were standard protocol across all of the major banks and was used to help protect customers from scams.
‘It’s to protect less street smart people from scammers. You don’t have to answer, but they are just trying to keep you safe,’ one commented.
Social media users shared similar experiences, claiming they were also questions vigorously when trying to withdraw cash from their bank accounts (stock image)
‘Remember that processes might not be in place for you- they are there to protect the ones that are vulnerable to scams or elder abuse a lot of the time,’ a second wrote.
A third added: ‘Yeah I just put up with it. Anyone can get scammed!’.
Daily Mail contacted Commonwealth Bank for comment.
A Commonwealth Bank spokeswoman previously told Daily Mail part of the bank’s role was to help customers access their money safely and in line with regulations.
‘When a customer requests a large cash withdrawal, our tellers may ask a few quick questions – to make sure it’s really you, you’re not being targeted by a scam, and in line with legal requirements,’ she said.
‘Our goal is always to do this discreetly and respectfully. With scam losses still significant in Australia, these short checks can be critical. We’re sorry for any frustration this may cause. We want to make it easy for you to access your money.’
