Have You Set Your ATM Preferences?
October 10, 2016 in Monday on the Money
As many times as I’ve used Bank of the Ozark’s ATM machines, I only recently noticed the little ATM preferences option at the bottom of the screen. I guess I normally have someone in line behind me, or I’m in a hurry, or maybe I’m just not very observant, but I actually thought it was a brand new feature until I spoke with my banker, who informed me it’s been there for as long as she could remember.
The option gives you the ability to set your language, receipt, and Fast Money preferences, which is a bigger convenience than I first thought. Setting these preferences will save me time with every ATM transaction as I’ll no longer be prompted to choose a language or to get a receipt, and I’ll now be more likely to use the Fast Money feature.
And for people like my friend Alfonso, who is bilingual, he’s actually going to set his language preference in Spanish as it may add an extra layer of identity theft protection. Chances are it will make it more difficult for the average thief to use his debit card at an ATM machine, and it may make it more difficult for a thief to peep over his shoulder to get his card information. We live in a custom world where everything from our phone home screen to our car’s radio are tailored to us. I don’t know why I didn’t have the same expectation about my bank’s ATM machines.
By Adam Lucas Adam Lucas holds a Finance degree and an MBA from the University of Kentucky. His work has appeared in many major outlets including Yahoo, AARP.org, and GoBankingRates.com.
Monday on the Money is a weekly commentary from Bank of the Ozarks providing financial advice and solutions important to you and your family.