A 40-year-old Pietermaritzburg woman says she was shocked when she tried to draw money at an ATM in Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu Natal. Interspersed with the notes were pieces of neatly cut rectangular paper with FIT and SBV Services printed on them.

SBV Services is a cash transit service that moves money around the country.

According to the Daily Voice, the mom wanted to draw R1,000 at an Absa ATM in Milton Road, Scottsville.

“I work too hard for my money. At the ATM I checked the amount and was surprised at the white pieces of paper in between the R100 notes. It was unbelievable. I was immediately angry, my bloed het gekook (my blood was boiling),” she told the paper.

“It was a lucky thing I checked, otherwise I would have been embarrassed when I was at the till to pay for my groceries,” she said.

She immediately alerted the bank, which said it would launch a forensic investigation into the matter and refund her the money within 10 working days.

According to News24, Absa confirmed that the ATM had dispensed a piece of paper with her cash, and said she was refunded within two days.

"We regret the error and we are working closely with our vendor to ensure that this doesn't happen again," the bank said.