My bank almost went paperless

I went to the bank over the Christmas break to deposit a couple of checks and make a small cash withdrawal. To my surprise, when I walked into the bank lobby and up to the table which usually has an ample supply of deposit and withdrawal forms, there were none. When I approached the teller, she told me the forms were no longer being used because the bank had gone paperless.

You can imagine my quandary, entering a paperless bank with paper checks in my pocket and some paper cash I wished to deposit. What was I to do?

Well, the teller asked me to type in my bank account number on this little keypad and then she accepted my checks and my cash and even gave me a tiny little paper receipt in exchange for my paper. I admit I was surprised to get a paper receipt from a paperless bank, but I did.

Part of my reason for going to the bank was to withdraw some paper bills for my grandchildren as their Christmas gifts. I planned to see most of them on a vacation trip back to northwestern Kansas. It’s always hard to buy the right presents for grandkids since my taste and theirs is not quite the same, so I decided to just give them an envelope with a little money to buy something they want or need.

I asked if the bank could still give me paper bills or if I now had to give my grandchildren an empty card with paperless spending money.

The teller’s answer? “Yes, even though the bank is going paperless, it still has paper bills for those who want them.

I was a bit worried we had become a cashless society and I had been unaware of the change in currency.

How much would you like, the teller asked me?” I told her the amount, counting in my head to be sure I had correctly numbered all my grandkids and wasn’t leaving anyone out.

“And do you want me to take this out of your bank account?” the teller asked.

I thought a moment and told her, “No, I wish to pay for them in paperless currency. Here’s the exact amount. You just can’t see it because it’s paperless.”

To my dismay, I learned my bank was not really paperless after all.

Randy Moll is the managing editor of the Westside Eagle Observer. He may be contacted by email at rmoll@nwadg.com. Opinions expressed are those of the author.