I’m a Bank Teller: 3 Reasons Some ATMs Don’t Offer Every Type of Bill
Written by
Chris Adam
Edited by
Travis Woods
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If you’ve ever needed quick change and ran to the convenience store instead of the ATM, you probably did it for one of a couple reasons. First, some ATMs charge a fee if it’s not your bank. Also, some ATMs seem to only dispense larger bills.
In fact, the question prompted several interesting responses on Quora: why do U.S. ATMs not dispense smaller bills like $1, $5 or $10?
Some users who said they used to work in banking provided answers. A user named Jugdesh Mirwani said older machines only have a couple of cartridges and operators decided to put $20 bills in both slots. In addition, according to the user, smaller bills can mean more cost along the way as vendors have to add more as the machine runs out. A user named Christie Fox said, you can use an outside drive-by teller to get those smaller bills.
So, what are a few reasons some ATMs haven’t always offered every type of bill? Here are a few.
1. Limited Configurations
First, ATMs used to be configured to dispense limited bills, such as $20 bills only. According to Chase, “Many ATMs have evolved from dispensing limited bills (for instance, $20 bills only) to now offering a variety of denominations.”
2. Easier Budgeting
In the earlier days of ATMs, when customers were excited for the new technology, they knew the machines would probably only dispense larger bills. Since $20 bills are not too large, but are able to be broken down into change fairly easily, it was easier to fill the ATMs with those bills. Further, customers could budget based on the knowledge they would get $20 bills from their ATM.
3. Quicker Refills
Imagine being the person who refilled an empty ATM. If you only had to worry about larger bills, it would probably take less time — and that adds up to savings. But with today’s technology allowing quicker refills, banks such as PNC now let customers choose cash denominations with much smaller bill amounts.
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