Edging Closer to ATM Crime Penalty Reform

The ‘Bank Robbery Act’, which became law in 1934, has been amended 17 times in attempts to ‘modernize’ its language. Congress quickly included savings and loan associations, along with other types of financial institutions. The most recent amendment in 1986 added the phrase "obtains or attempts to obtain". But still, nearly 60 years after its invention, no mention of the ATM – even though consumers use it far more often than tellers to get their everyday cash.

The Safe Access to Cash Act was first introduced several years ago. The Senate version of the bill, S.3798, was finally passed on September 30 and sent to the House for consideration on October 5. This amendment includes all ATMs, regardless of the owner/operator and/or location. Virtually all ATM crime would become a Federal felony, subject to stiff fines and up to 20 years in prison. And hopefully will at least reduce the crime rate to some extent.

ATMIA members who wish to follow the progress of this bill and others that impact our industry, can do so by accessing the Legislative Bill Tracker. To review the status of active bills in Congress that potentially impact the ATM industry, go to the ‘State’ filter at the top of the screen and select ‘US Congress’. 

Interested in learning which states have bills pending to prohibit Crypto ATMs? Combine the Category and Key Word filters – then Search on “prohibit” in the Virtual Currency Category. That search, for example, identifies 6 different bills, in 4 different states, on the first of 3 pages.

The Legislative Bill Tracker system is a very sophisticated tool that is very easy to use. Members can select which bills to track, then receive daily updates. It currently contains 2,412 entries.

Best regards to all.
David