Originally Posted by
tmiw
I feel like ATMs that can give out denominations other than $20 are a relatively new phenomenon in the US but I could be wrong on that.
Up until the mid/late 90s, it seemed like every ATM had a "fast cash $50" option that gave two 5s and two 20s. Most of them have long since switched to 20s only, but you still find a few, often at small, local banks or credit unions whose ATMs don't go through as much cash. I have noticed more ATMs in the US with 10s in the last few years, though. And then there's the casino ATMs with 100s. I'm pretty sure every time I bought a motorcycle, my bank thought I had a gambling problem
Originally Posted by
tmiw
I've heard that in the past (and possibly still now), many tipped workers preferred cash tips since they made it easier to not report all of them. I've also heard of a few restaurants that don't allow tips on card due to POS limitations but I don't think that's common.
What is somewhat common, though, is a reluctance to split restaurant checks. In that case, paying cash to one person or using Venmo or similar (with that person paying by card) is the usual workaround. That might only affect OP if he eats with larger groups often, however, not to mention that those restaurants will still exchange larger bills as mentioned previously
It's not just tipped workers, in some parts of the US shopkeepers do it too; I think we've all been to a restaurant that doesn't ring up cash sales on the register at all... but the ethics of tax evasion is a topic for OMNI/PR.
Splitting checks is a pain at a lot of restaurants in the US, especially when they're running POS software from the 90s. I've had pretty good success with writing last-4 and amount on a slip of paper for the waiter, but having the right amount of cash to pay one person is clearly the easiest option. Ironically, this is one situation that the non-integrated POS and card terminals in much of Europe make easier; other than huge (10+) groups, I've never had a waiter bat an eye at everyone paying separately.