DesertNomad

Emirates Bank (on Nasr Square, Al Wasl Road and in Bur Dubai near HSBC) has only ever given me 500AED notes even when pulling 5000AED from the ATM.

I once pulled 440,000,000 from a Turkish ATM and got 22 twenty-million Lira notes... about $300 at the time.

mattm199

I have found this too when visiting the US, and withdrawing cash.
In Australia the ATM's have $50 and $20 bills, but in all US machines I have used, have only been given $20's. Makes a problem if withdrawing a larger amount of cash for traveling expenses, or to lessen the foreign transaction fees, and ending up with a big wad of bills!

Sjoerd

Last week I withdrew US$500 from a Citibank ATM in NYC and got a mix of 50's and 20's.

FlyinHawaiian

Non-NonRev

D'oh.... (thanks for the catch, I missed that on the first reading)

At my old S&L, we had about 15 machines in our home city. Because some of the machines were in highly-trafficed areas, if a machine was out of bills, or if it had a jam, etc, we had an after-hours (6pm to 11pm) two-person "go team" of corporate employees who would drive out and change out the empty magazine(s), or would perform very simple maintenance (I remember a small wire brush that would be used to clean a pesky sensor). The people who volunteered to be on the team were paid $50 per evening for carrying the pager (no cell phones back then), plus $25 for each "visit" plus mileage. Two people would be on each night's team, in order to maintain dual control.

Oxb

I am old enough to remember ATMs dispensing $1 bills. In the 70s when I was in college I would withdraw something like $3 quite often. (Since that was all that I had) That would get six beers in a bar ^

mecabq

When I was in college (only 10 years ago), the bank (M&T Bank, if I remember correctly) had an ATM that would dispense exactly the amount, including change, that the customer wanted. Kind of pointless, but interesting.

jpatokal

I'm still waiting for a Singapore ATM that can dispense these:

http://www.mas.gov.sg/currency/curre...es__10000.html

(As of today, those are worth almost exactly US$7,000 a pop.)

Athena53

Thanks for the explanations as to why most ATMS are single-denomination. I remember when they were first introduced in NJ, you could actually select your mix of 10s and 20s, and maybe even 5's. Then, mysteriously, they all gave 20s and nothing else. So first they wean you away from dealing with humans and then they decrease the quality of the "self-service". Think they've been talking to the airlines?

I remember withdrawing $200 in the Vegas airport- and getting 2 $100 bills. Never happened to me except in Vegas.

Ready2Go

I withdrew $100 recently from a BofA ATM at MIA and got a single $100 bill. (Which I wouldn't mind at all, if only merchants would accept them.)

smackfu

The killer is when the $60 withdrawal or local equivalent is a $50 + $10, rather than 3 $20s.

At times, I've taken out $90, becaues I know worst case I'll get $50 + $20 + $20.
Vegas is pretty much the only place where $100s are normal. I think mainly because when you're gambling, it's a lot easier to put down a $100 or two to buy-in instead of 5 or 10 twenties. And it's a lot easier to cash out.

mecabq

. . . and you're more likely to lose the full $100 than something less.

xinerevelle

And Atlantic City...
And Biloxi...
And pretty much any gambling area...

gfunkdave

A friend of mine has a Citibank account precisely because (he says) when he withdraws $300 or more, he gets $50s.

I have only seen $100s and $20s in the US, personally.

BigAppleCoder

In NYC, the Citibank ATMs also give out $50s.