Bank Surveillance Cameras: What Banks Use and Where They Go

Last updated: October 14, 2026

Bank surveillance cameras record activity at teller counters, entrances, ATMs, vaults and back offices so crimes can be deterred and the people involved identified. Federal rules list a camera recording the banking office as one way to meet a bank’s security program, and nearly every bank that was robbed in 2023 had cameras. Most banks use a mix of dome, bullet and PTZ cameras, and many add live monitoring so someone can act while an incident is happening.

Key Takeaways

• FBI data shows 1,327 of the 1,362 bank robberies, burglaries and larcenies in 2023 hit institutions that had surveillance cameras.
• Cameras alone didn’t stop those crimes, and fewer than half of the people involved had been identified when the FBI reported.
• Federal security rules name a camera recording the banking office as one way to help identify offenders.
• Teller counters were involved in 1,182 of the 1,362 incidents, so they need the best coverage.
• Live monitoring turns cameras from a record of what happened into a way to respond while it’s happening.

Bank Surveillance Cameras: What Banks Use and Where They Go

Almost every bank has cameras. In 2023, the FBI recorded 1,362 robberies, burglaries and larcenies at federally insured financial institutions, and in 1,327 of them, the institution had surveillance cameras in place, according to the FBI’s Bank Crime Statistics.

So the question for most banks isn’t whether to have bank surveillance cameras. It’s whether the cameras you have capture what investigators need, and whether anyone is watching when it matters. This guide covers what federal rules say, the camera types banks use, where to place them, and what turns recordings into protection. For the full picture of branch security beyond cameras, see our bank security guide. If you’re reviewing coverage at your own branches, contact for inquiry and we’ll talk it through.

What Federal Rules Say About Bank Cameras

Under the Bank Protection Act, every federally insured bank needs a written security program. For FDIC-supervised institutions, 12 CFR 326.3 says that program must include procedures that help identify people who commit crimes against the bank and preserve evidence for prosecution. It lists “maintaining a camera that records activity in the banking office” as one way to do that, alongside keeping crime records and using bait bills or tracking devices.

The same rule sets minimum devices for every institution: a vault or safe, lighting around a vault visible from outside, an alarm that alerts police, and tamper-resistant locks on exterior doors and windows. Beyond that, the bank’s security officer chooses other devices based on local crime, cash exposure, police distance and cost. In practice, cameras are part of nearly every program.

Types of Bank Surveillance Cameras

Most branches use a mix of three camera styles:

• Dome cameras. Ceiling-mounted and discreet, with a lens direction that’s hard to read from below. Common over teller lines, lobbies and entrances.
• Bullet cameras. Visible, long and usually weatherproof. Their look alone discourages people, which suits parking lots, drive-up lanes and exterior ATMs.
• PTZ cameras. Pan, tilt and zoom, so one camera can follow a person across a large area or zoom in on a face or plate.

ATMs add their own cameras, usually built into the machine to capture the user’s face. Exterior cameras then cover the approach, where skimmers are installed and where people wait.

What Makes Bank Camera Footage Usable

Whatever the style, a camera only helps if its footage is usable. A few details make the difference:

• Faces, not hats. Mount entrance and counter cameras low enough to see under a cap brim. A camera high in a corner records the top of a head.
• Light that works with the camera. Glass doors and bright windows turn people into silhouettes. Check each view at midday and after dark.
• Correct time stamps. Footage with the wrong date or time is hard to match to a teller record or an alarm log.
• Retention and export. Keep footage long enough to cover late-reported incidents, and make sure staff know how to export a clip for police.
• Regular testing. The federal rule above also requires procedures for testing and maintaining security devices. A camera that has drifted, fogged or gone offline fails quietly until the day it’s needed.

Where to Place Cameras in a Bank

The FBI’s 2023 data shows where crimes actually happen. The teller counter was involved in 1,182 of the 1,362 incidents, followed by ATMs (124), office areas (98) and vaults or safes (54). Placement should follow the same order:

1. Teller counters. A camera over each station, plus one facing customers at counter height to capture faces, not the tops of heads.
2. Entrances and exits. A face-level view of everyone coming in and out. Doors are often the only place an offender looks straight ahead.
3. ATMs and vestibules. The machine, the user and the approach. Watch for anyone blocking a lens or spending too long at the card slot.
4. Vaults, safes and cash rooms. Every entry, recorded every time.
5. Office areas and staff-only doors. Who goes where after hours.
6. Parking lots and drive-up lanes. Vehicles, plates and anyone waiting outside.

Our guide to camera coverage covers placement principles in more detail, and our article on ATM theft and fraud prevention goes deeper on machines and vestibules.

Why Recording Alone Isn’t Enough

The same FBI report shows the limits of cameras that only record. Cameras were activated in 1,208 incidents and worked as intended in 1,136. Yet of the 1,652 people known to be involved in those crimes, only 801 had been identified when the report was compiled.

A recording helps after the fact, if it captured the right angle and if someone finds it. It doesn’t interrupt anything. Most bank robberies happen during business hours, but burglaries and ATM attacks often happen when the branch is closed and nobody is looking at the screens.

That gap is where monitoring comes in.

How Live Monitoring Makes Bank Cameras Work Harder

With live video monitoring, trained agents watch a branch’s cameras in real time, including nights, weekends and holidays. When someone tampers with an ATM, lingers in a vestibule after hours or tries an exterior door, an agent reviews it and acts: a voice warning through on-site speakers, a call to your designated contacts, or a police dispatch.

Every event is logged with a time stamp and a video clip, which supports the same goal the federal rule describes: identifying offenders and preserving evidence. It works with cameras the bank already has, so improving coverage doesn’t mean starting over. See how we approach bank video surveillance across branches.

How Monitex Supports Banks

• People on the screens. Trained agents watch every hour of the day.
• Your cameras first. We review your current layout, point out gaps and connect the cameras you already have.
• A voice on site. Speakers let agents warn intruders at ATMs, vestibules and entrances.
• A clear record. Every event logged with time stamp and clip.

Contact for inquiry, and we’ll walk through your branch layout and cameras with you.