If you are a western expat, or even just a tourist in Dumaguete, you don’t know what will happen when you use these machines. Chances are, that everything will be OK, and you’ll just walk away on the hot dusty streets.
With money in your pocket, life looks good- you can expect a sexy smile from your partner and a nice evening out. But behind you, deep in the guts of the ATM machine you just used, your remaining balance may be vanishing!
When you stick your card in and enter your pin number, this machine grabs and holds personal information about you from the magnetic stripe on the back: who you are, how much you want, your pin number.
If it’s an international card, the machine tells you have to pay an outrageous U.S. $4.50 to continue. Then it gets access to your main account in New York, or London, or Berlin and OK’s the transaction, plus the fee.
And now, who you are, how much money you can take, and the code you use to get it, are all still vibrating in that machine in front of you, accessible to clever strangers eager to steal whatever they can from you. It’s happened to me and my friends several times.
The person behind you in the ATM line may use a special card that can read the data from your transaction, and get money from your account as if you had never left the machine. Or maybe someone in the bank can secretly decode the internet request.
It’s safe to use your card over the counter inside a bank- it’s a person to person encounter with the bank teller. You know who you’re talking to.
But ATM’s are anonymous and inhuman.
And, since the ATM’s arrived, most Dumaguete banks no longer allow over-the-counter use of cards. Too much trouble. “Use the ATM, sir.” And, if you have a problem… Tell it to your bank in New York, or London, or Berlin- don’t bother us here.
ATM’s are very convenient- you can get cash at any time. Their screens light up the streets at night. Their card slots wink at you, and beckon you forward: “Come and get it!”
It’s the digital age. If you fall sick in the street here, someone will help you- but if you lose money from one of these ATM’s, the money is just gone.
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Author’s email: john.stevenson299@gmail.com
