Strange ATM moment

You know when you’re at the last stage before your cash arrives at an ATM, and it warns you that your issuer might charge and asks you if you’re sure? Well today, I accidentally pressed “No”, and Monzo debited me anyway! I then went back through the process and got my cash, and Monzo said I was then overdrawn! It did then recognise the refund, so I only really got debited by the correct amount in the end. I know the balance is only checked overnight for the purposes of calculating overdrafts, but are there any cases where this could be problematic? I was pretty surprised to see a charge and then a refund for a transaction that never really happened…

Hello :wave:

It’s the way authorisations and presentments work.

When you choose the amount in the ATM we reserve it and put it aside for the cash guys*. :money_with_wings:

It’s not actually presented until around 24-48 hours later but can take up to 7 days for the cash guys* to collect it. Even longer, sometimes.

As Monzo notify you at authorisation, so it is realtime availability, it looks like the money has left your account. When in reality it is in it’s own little pot for the cash guys* to collect. :honey_pot:

*Replace cash guys with merchant where appropriate

2 Likes

Thanks Beth! Just thought I’d ask :wink:

PS - I hope you’re in the pub…

:joy: in the dining room at home, at your service.

2 Likes

Yeah, I wondered that myself as I’ve had the Monzo notification happen just before the charge confirmation.

This topic was automatically closed 180 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.