How come ATMs in the USA only give out bills in increments of $20?

[robcaro]

@Montgomery Burns

A couple of weeks ago I was in Quito, Ecuador visiting my daughter (where the currency is US dollars and they use US paper money). She requested $100 from an ATM and $1 bills were included in the bills the machine dispensed.

They are probably just getting rid of the 1’s because they don’t have any other use for them.

[garygnu]

@robcaro

They are probably just getting rid of the 1’s because they don’t have any other use for them.

Maybe there’s a strip club nearby.

[Sage_Rat]

@InvisibleWombat

Sage Rat, you don’t have a very good mental picture of ATM distribution in the U.S.

I think you don’t have a good mental picture of ATM distribution in Japan. Unless you can tell me that there is an ATM within three to five minute walking distance from the front door of a vast majority of residences in the USA, then by vast majority Japan has ATMs that are significantly easier to get to.

The issue isn’t the number of ATMs per person, but how far people have to go to get to it. If most people have to get in their car to go to the ATM–even if it’s not a long drive–that’s still a significant difference from Japan.

[Montgomery_Burns]

@robcaro

They are probably just getting rid of the 1’s because they don’t have any other use for them.

No, just the opposite. One dollar bills are very useful in Ecuador. In fact the $1 US coin is very popular in circulation there. It is the $20s that are the problem. Many places can’t make change for a $20, even places you would think it wouldn’t be a problem.

[Montgomery_Burns]

@garygnu

Maybe there’s a strip club nearby.

The ATM that was giving out $1 bills was in a grocery store in an upscale mall (Que Centro in Quito). We were surprised to see a grocery store in a mall. We would have been really surprised to see a strip club there.

[Gary_Robson]

@Sage Rat

@InvisibleWombat

Sage Rat, you don’t have a very good mental picture of ATM distribution in the U.S.

I think you don’t have a good mental picture of ATM distribution in Japan.

I have no mental picture of ATM distribution in Japan at all; I haven’t been there since 1980. On review, by the way, the statement you were responding to sounded pretty snarky. Sorry. I didn’t mean it that way.

I was responding specifically to this:

@Sage Rat

As an American who has lived abroad for some years, personally my guess would be that due to the US’s much lower population density, ATMs will be spread out less densely as well. This means you need to travel farther to get to one, and thereby you’ll rarely be interested in withdrawing smaller amounts of cash.

I pointed out that in a small town of 2,300 people, our ATM density is about one per 200 people.

@Sage Rat

Unless you can tell me that there is an ATM within three to five minute walking distance from the front door of a vast majority of residences in the USA, then by vast majority Japan has ATMs that are significantly easier to get to.

The issue isn’t the number of ATMs per person, but how far people have to go to get to it. If most people have to get in their car to go to the ATM–even if it’s not a long drive–that’s still a significant difference from Japan.

I really don’t think the distance from one’s home to the nearest ATM matters. People don’t need cash at home (unless you’re paying for a delivered pizza, and they’re happy to take a credit card number over the phone). So what if there isn’t an ATM within a 3-5 minute walk of most ranches around here?

What matters is how far the ATMs are from where you’re actually going to spend money. That’s why I pointed out the size of our downtown area in my post. A density of > 1 ATM per block means it’s a very reasonable walk from anywhere downtown to an ATM.