Safe Access to Cash Act of 2025

Safe Access to Cash Act of 2025

This bill specifies that robbery offenses involving ATMs and related cash constitute crimes under the federal bank robbery statute.

Currently, the federal bank robbery statute makes it a federal crime to take or attempt to take, by force and violence or by intimidation, money or other property belonging to or in the care, custody, control, management, or possession of any bank, credit union, or savings and loan association.

However, federal circuit courts have split on whether forcing someone to withdraw money from an ATM constitutes an offense under the federal bank robbery statute. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has held that directly forcing a bank customer to withdraw money from an ATM does not constitute a federal bank robbery because the funds were in the possession of the customer, not the bank. In contrast, the Tenth and Seventh Circuits have held that directly forcing a bank customer to withdraw money from an ATM constitutes a federal bank robbery because the funds belonged to the bank when the withdrawal occurred.

This bill specifies that for purposes of the federal bank robbery statute, an ATM and any cash in transit to, being loaded into, or being unloaded from an ATM is in the care, custody, control, management, or possession of, any bank, credit union, or any savings and loan association, regardless of whether the ATM is located on the physical premises of such an institution or owned or operated by such an institution.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1631 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1631

To amend title 18, United States Code, to clarify that ATMs are in the 
care, custody, control, management, or possession of, any bank, credit 
 union, or any savings and loan association regardless of whether the 
    ATM is located on the physical premises of such an institution.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 26, 2025

   Mr. Rose (for himself, Mr. Ivey, Mr. Fitzgerald, Mr. Meuser, Ms. 
   Brownley, Mr. Foster, Mr. Ogles, and Mr. Kustoff) introduced the 
  following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend title 18, United States Code, to clarify that ATMs are in the 
care, custody, control, management, or possession of, any bank, credit 
 union, or any savings and loan association regardless of whether the 
    ATM is located on the physical premises of such an institution.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Safe Access to Cash Act of 2025''.

SEC. 2. ATM ROBBERY.

    Section 2113 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following:
    ``(i) The term `ATM' means any network-connected automated teller 
machine terminal that is connected to one or more of the global, 
national, or regional electronic financial networks that allow a 
depositor of any bank, credit union, or savings and loan association, 
by use at such ATM of a card or other access device, as defined in 
subsection (e)(1) of section 1029 of this title, issued or authorized 
by such depository institution, to access such depositor's account for 
the purpose of making withdrawals from or deposits to such account, or 
making inquiry as to the balance in such account, and includes any ATM 
owned, operated, or sponsored by a bank, credit union, or any savings 
and loan association.
    ``(j) For purposes of this section, an ATM, and any cash that is in 
transit to or being loaded into or unloaded from an ATM, shall be 
considered in the care, custody, control, management, or possession of, 
any bank, credit union, or any savings and loan association, regardless 
of whether--
            ``(1) the ATM is located on the physical premises of such 
        an institution; or
            ``(2) the ATM is owned or operated by such an 
        institution.''.
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