A BOURNEMOUTH man was left bewildered after a bank cashier refused to accept £500 cash at the NatWest branch in Winton.

Damien Taylor was intending to make a payment into his fiancée’s account on Wednesday September 25 before he was told they did not accept cash.

He said: “I was absolutely gobsmacked. A bank which doesn’t accept money? It’s completely crazy.

“The female cashier said they didn’t accept cash and told me to put the money into an envelope and place it into a container to be processed later.”

Damien wanted the cash to be processed immediately and told the cashier he would prefer to complete the transaction face-to-face as he needed a receipt.

He said: “There was no queue behind me, so it’s not like they were in a rush and didn’t have time to deal with the request. I wanted the cash to clear straight away and I told my fiancée I would get a receipt so there couldn’t be any discrepancy over the amount. I went back to Barclays to pay the £500 cash back into my own account and told them what had just happened. They were completely astonished and didn’t understand it either.” A NatWest spokesperson said: "There are a number of ways customers can pay in cash at our branches including using our paying in machines, the cashier’s desk or through a quick deposit envelope which is particularly useful when the branch is busy.

“The choice should always be down to the preference of each customer and we apologise to Mr Taylor for his inconvenience.”