An “ITM session” on your bank statement means you completed a transaction at an Interactive Teller Machine, a banking terminal that connects you to a live teller by video instead of running everything through automated ATM software. It’s a legitimate banking entry, not a mystery charge. If you recently used a machine at your bank or credit union that looked like an ATM but launched a video call with a real person, that interaction is what created the ITM line on your statement.
What an Interactive Teller Machine Is
An Interactive Teller Machine looks a lot like a standard ATM, but it adds a video screen, camera, and microphone so you can speak face-to-face with a bank employee working from a remote location. The machine can also scan documents, count cash in mixed denominations, and dispense exact change down to the penny. A regular ATM hands out bills in fixed increments, usually twenties. An ITM with a live teller can give you $147.63 if that’s what you need.
Banks and credit unions have rolled these out to solve a staffing problem: one remote teller can serve customers at several branches at once. For you, the practical benefit is extended hours. Many ITMs offer live teller access well beyond the branch’s lobby schedule, sometimes into evenings and weekends, and fall back to basic ATM functions the rest of the time.
How the Entry Appears on Your Statement
When an ITM transaction posts, the entry usually carries a label identifying it as an interactive teller session rather than a standard ATM withdrawal or deposit. Common formats include “ITM SESSION,” “ITM W/D” for a withdrawal, and “ITM DEP” for a deposit. You’ll also see a location identifier for the branch or machine and a timestamp. Wording varies by bank, so yours may abbreviate things differently, but the “ITM” portion is the consistent tell.
Federal rules require your bank to include specific details on your periodic statement for every electronic fund transfer: the amount, the date it posted, the type of transfer and account involved, and the terminal location where you initiated it.1Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 12 CFR 1005.9 – Receipts at Electronic Terminals; Periodic Statements The regulation doesn’t dictate the exact abbreviation. Whether your statement reads “ITM SESSION” or “VIDEO TELLER WDL” comes down to the institution’s internal coding. What matters is that the entry gives you enough information to identify the transaction.
Why This Label and Not a Regular ATM Code
The ITM designation appears specifically because a live teller was involved. If you walked up to one of these machines and completed a withdrawal entirely through the touchscreen without starting a video call, it typically posts as a normal ATM transaction. The “ITM” label signals that the machine connected you to a person. That’s why the same physical machine can generate different statement codes depending on how you used it.
Activities that commonly trigger an ITM entry include:
- Withdrawing an exact dollar-and-cents amount rather than standard bill increments.
- Cashing a check while the teller verifies the endorsement through the scanner.
- Making a loan payment on a car loan, mortgage, or similar account.
- Transferring money between accounts when the transaction needs human verification.
- Depositing a check and taking part of it back in cash, which typically requires teller approval.
Because a live teller is authenticating your identity through the camera and verifying documents through the scanner, many institutions set higher daily withdrawal limits for ITM sessions than for standard ATM use. The specific caps depend on your bank, so check your account agreement or call if you need to know yours.
If You Don’t Recognize the Transaction
An unfamiliar ITM entry is usually harmless. Maybe you forgot about a quick errand, or you didn’t realize the machine you used was an ITM rather than a regular ATM. But if the amount, date, or location doesn’t match anything you did, treat it like any other suspicious charge. Federal law gives you strong protections, and the clock starts when your statement arrives.
Report It Quickly
Under Regulation E, your liability for an unauthorized electronic fund transfer depends almost entirely on how fast you report it. Notify your bank within two business days of learning about the problem and your maximum loss is $50. Wait longer than two days but report within 60 days of receiving the statement, and your exposure jumps to $500. Miss the 60-day window and you could be on the hook for every unauthorized transfer that occurs after the deadline, with no cap.2eCFR. 12 CFR 1005.6 – Liability of Consumer for Unauthorized Transfers If something like a hospital stay or extended travel kept you from checking your statements, the bank is required to extend those deadlines to a reasonable period.
What Happens After You Report
You can report an error by phone or in writing. Your bank must begin investigating promptly once you call, even without a written statement. The institution may ask you to follow up in writing within 10 business days, but it cannot sit on its hands waiting for that letter before looking into the problem.3Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Comment for 1005.11 – Procedures for Resolving Errors
From the day your bank receives your notice, it has 10 business days to investigate and reach a conclusion. If it needs more time, it can extend the investigation to 45 days, but only if it provisionally credits your account within those first 10 business days so you have access to the disputed funds while the review continues.4eCFR. 12 CFR 1005.11 – Procedures for Resolving Errors The bank cannot charge you fees related to the dispute process if an error actually occurred.
If your bank has recently installed ITMs at branches you visit, expect to see these codes more often. They’re nothing to worry about as long as the amounts and dates line up with transactions you actually made. When they don’t, the dispute protections above apply to an ITM session the same way they apply to any other electronic fund transfer.