Can You Deposit Cash at an ATM? | Chase (2024)

FAQs

Is it OK to deposit cash in an ATM? ›

If you're wondering if you can deposit cash at an ATM, the answer is yes, you can, but not all ATMs accept cash. The details, including fees, vary depending on your bank, and if you use a bank that operates only online, you may not be able to deposit any cash at all.

Maximum deposit limits vary by bank, but in this case, anything above $10,000 (even a penny more) is the amount to know. The Bank Secrecy Act and the Patriot Act dictate that financial institutions create a paper trail of financial activity that could be suspicious.

ATM deposit limit

As per the rules set by the Reserve Bank of India, the per-transaction cap is Rs. 49,900 for cardless deposits and Rs. 2,000,000 for debit card transactions (subject to the account ceded with PAN number).

For example, if your bank's ATM limits you to 50 bills at a time, you'll only be able to deposit somewhere between $50 (if depositing $1 bills) and $5,000 (if depositing $100 bills). Or you could be allowed to insert bills until reaching a maximum dollar amount, such as $10,000 per day.

When Does a Bank Have to Report Your Deposit? Banks report individuals who deposit $10,000 or more in cash. The IRS typically shares suspicious deposit or withdrawal activity with local and state authorities, Castaneda says.

Possible reasons could be improperly following prompts on the screen, inserting the cash incorrectly, or attempting to deposit some money with an out-of-network ATM.

Others may require the teller to place a hold on the funds to help manage risk to the customer and to the bank. Possible examples of transactions that might prompt questions from a teller include: Transactions (deposits AND withdrawals) involving an unusually large amount of cash.

The regulation requires that multiple purchases during one business day be aggregated and treated as one purchase. Purchases of different types of instruments at the same time are treated as one purchase and the amounts should be aggregated to determine if the total is $3,000 or more.

But sometimes making a cash deposit could make you look suspicious. In other words, if you deposit a large amount of cash into your bank account, banks may hold your money temporarily because the transaction may be flagged for fraud. That's not to say you can't make a cash deposit – it's all in how you do it.

In most cases, there is no cap on the dollar amount you can deposit through an ATM. However, there may be a maximum number of items you can deposit.

Can I deposit 3,000 cash into a bank? ›

There is no limit to the cash you can deposit and it's not illegal to do so. The bank is required by law to report your deposits to the IRS, in order to keep a record of your deposits and also make sure there are no money laundering activities involved.

When it comes to cash deposits being reported to the IRS, $10,000 is the magic number. Whenever you deposit cash payments from a customer totaling $10,000, the bank will report them to the IRS.

When a cash deposit of $10,000 or more is made, the bank or financial institution is required to file a form reporting this. This form reports any transaction or series of related transactions in which the total sum is $10,000 or more. So, two related cash deposits of $5,000 or more also have to be reported.

Under the federal Bank Secrecy Act and USA PATRIOT Act, banks and other financial institutions must report cash deposits of more than $10,000 with a Currency Transaction Report (CTR) filing.

While you can deposit checks over $10,000 at any bank or ATM, cashing this requires the bank to report it to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), a rule for all cash transactions over $10,000. If you need a substantial check, you may also want to consider cashier's checks that the bank guarantees.

Using an ATM that's in your bank's network may allow you to avoid fees and could ensure faster access to your deposited funds. Also, keep in mind that not all ATMs accept deposits. Some machines, particularly those in gas stations and retail stores, may only offer cash withdrawals.

Depositing cash at an ATM can incur fees, especially if the ATM is out-of-network or belongs to a different bank than yours. However, many banks offer free cash deposits at their own ATMs or in-network ATMs. Always check with your bank for specific policies regarding cash fees for cash deposits.

Generally speaking, there is a hold placed on deposits made through the ATM because the deposit needs to be verified. The ATM machine itself does not know what's in the envelope. Cash, cheques of maybe the envelope is empty. Verification is a necessary, manual process.

So, should you take the plunge? Depositing checks through an ATM is generally safe. Mistakes do happen, but they're rare. The good news is that as the technology improves, in the words of Paul McCartney, it's getting better all the time.