Even though it's gotten much easier to manage your money right from your phone or computer, there are still a few things that require a trip to the bank. Fortunately, even those with busy schedules can still grab any quick cash they need or make a deposit after business hours by using a branch's ATM. But sometimes, the convenience of being able to get these to-do list items done can make it easy to forget that safety is still a concern. And now, Chase says that it's closing some of its ATMs early due to "rising crime and vagrancy." Read on to see why the bank is changing its hours of operation.
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Chase says it's closing ATMs early in some locations due to concerns over "rising crime and vagrancy."
Hadrian/ShutterstockATMs can be a savior when you need to make a transaction after working hours. But after a customer recently tweeted that branches appeared to be locking up earlier, the bank confirmed that it was limiting access to its around-the-clock vestibules in New York City due to security concerns.
"Our apologies. We decide to close several ATM vestibules at 5 PM or 6 PM, aligning the hours of service to that of the normal branch hours, due to rising crime and vagrancy that occurred in these previously 24/7 vestibules," the company wrote.
The bank declined to specify which locations were affected by the changes.
rblfmr/ShutterstockWhen reached for comment, the bank confirmed that it had changed access hours for customers at some locations.
"For the safety of our customers and employees, we may temporarily close some ATMs overnight," a spokesperson for Chase said in a statement emailed to Best Life. "Only a small portion of the ATMs we have in NYC are closing after regular business hours, and many of our ATMs remain open 24 hours."
When asked for a set of locations affected by the schedule changes or a potential time frame for when they would be in effect, the representative declined to elaborate, saying: "We don't have more details to share beyond our statement."
A recent incident involved one assailant seriously injuring a customer inside a Chase ATM vestibule.
ShutterstockWhile the bank declined to specify any particular reason for its sudden decision to limit access to its ATMs, one of its locations was the site of a late-night attack that left one person seriously injured. On Jan. 19, a Chase customer was standing inside a branch vestibule on W. 40th Street and Eighth Avenue in Manhattan at 3:40 a.m. when an unknown assailant tossed a cup of scalding hot coffee into his face before fleeing, local news outlet 1010 WINS reports.
Police responding to the incident said that it was unprovoked and that nothing was stolen during the altercation. The victim was transported to a nearby hospital in stable condition, where he was treated for burns to the right side of his face, neck, and shoulder, reports 1010 WINS.
Some customers are upset about the shortened hours of ATM access.
iStockDespite the company saying it made the changes for the safety of its customers, many are already upset with the bank for the inconvenience. Some took to social media to air their frustrations with the move.
"Are you going to refund the ATM fees to customers when we get ripped off to use a bodega ATM to pay for our late night slice of pizza, because you can't provide a basic service to account holders? I didn't think so," one user replied to the bank's initial tweet announcing the changes.
"If ATMs aren't available when the bank is closed, what's the point?" another irate user questioned. "Given your bigshots' salaries there's clearly room for security where it's deemed required."
However, this is also not the first instance of Chase limiting access to its ATM vestibules. Last summer, the bank began locking the doors to its 1120 Sixth Avenue location in Manhattan at 10 p.m. and reopening them at 7 a.m. as it dealt with security concerns, the New York Post reported.
