ATM Eats New Banknote, Chelyabinsk Man Loses 5,000 Rubles
In September, Chelyabinsk resident Petr tried to top up his account through a Rosselkhozbank (Russian Agricultural Bank, RSHB) ATM, but the machine first refused to accept the five-thousand-ruble note (approximately $50 at current rates), and then ate it. The bank dealt with the situation and returned Petr«s money after a week. But in January, the situation repeated. It turned out that not all Rosselkhozbank ATMs can recognize the new-design banknotes issued in 2024. We contacted the bank for comments and learned the list of addresses where ATMs do not work with new banknotes.
«Topping Up at the Counter is Inconvenient»
On September 30, 2025, Petr wanted to deposit 5,000 rubles (about $50) through an ATM near the former «Shkollnik» store (Soni Krivoy Street, 24). When the machine took the banknote without crediting the account, Petr turned to the nearby Rosselkhozbank branch.
«I tell them: »What the hell?«» recalls Petr. «They respond, saying, we»ll fix everything, the collectors will take out the money, they«ll find your note. It»s just that the ATM doesn«t recognize the new-design money. I reply: »Well, if you know about this, at least put up a notice!« They said they would.»
Petr wrote a statement to the Chelyabinsk branch of the bank and also contacted the Moscow office, where, according to him, they sternly promised to deal with the situation and punish those responsible. A week later, on October 6, the missing 5,000 rubles (about $50) were credited to his account, and he considered the incident a one-time misunderstanding.
But in January 2026, everything repeated.
«Topping up the account at the counter is inconvenient: there are queues. I went back to the ATM to deposit 11,500 rubles (about $115): it credited 1,500, but again didn»t accept the five-thousand notes,« says Petr. »And again, no notices! I, however, didn«t insist this time, just took the money back after the first failure — in September I tried several times, and in the end the ATM ate it. This amazes me. Two months have passed, you could either fix the situation or warn people! It seems like nobody cares.»
25 ATMs — Not for New Banknotes
In response to a query from 74.RU, Rosselkhozbank stated that their priority is the quality and culture of customer service, and every feedback is important. The bank also reported that they conducted a check and as of January 27, identified ATMs in the Chelyabinsk region that do not accept new-design banknotes. There were 25 of them, with 7 in Chelyabinsk at the following addresses:
Soni Krivoy Street, 24;
Soni Krivoy Street, 75;
Komsomolsky Prospekt, 41;
Bratyev Kashirinykh Street, 124;
Prospekt Lenina, 26a;
Geroev Tankograda Street, 102;
Trashutina Street, 25.
Rosselkhozbank apologized to the customer for the inconvenience caused.
Recall that the new five-thousand-ruble notes appeared in autumn 2024, the problem with ATMs arose already then, meaning there was over a year to fix it. And recently, there was an even more dramatic case: a Sovcombank ATM did not credit 1.2 million rubles (around $12,000 at current rates) that a resident of Kopeysk tried to deposit into her account. Users of Sberbank ATMs complained about a similar problem.
