Withdrawing money is a disaster in Venezuela

The hyperinflation in Venezuela has a major impact on the daily life of the population. According to Bloomberg People have to queue at different ATMs to collect enough money for daily shopping. The largest banknote is worth only two cents, which means that you need almost a basket of money for a basket of groceries.

To relieve the pressure on ATMs, some banks have a limit of 6,000 bolivar (converted $1.30), but even that amount cannot be withdrawn at every ATM at once. That is why people stand in line not once, but several times to withdraw the amount of money for daily groceries.

Limit on pins

Banks try to limit withdrawals as much as possible and therefore set even lower limits. As a result, customers sometimes have to insert their debit cards into the device up to seven times to withdraw the 3,500 bolivar limit.  That's a total of 35 banknotes, with a value of less than one dollar.

In some bank branches it is possible to withdraw a larger amount. A branch of the Banco Del Caribe has a daily limit of 24,500 bolivar, an amount that is currently just enough for a lunch with four people. The ATM takes six minutes to spit out the 7.5-centimetre-thick stack of banknotes.

Many Venezuelans have no other option than to join the queues at the ATMs. Paying with a debit card is less common in Venezuela than in many Western countries. Also, many stores only want to have cash, because it takes more time for the money to arrive with a bank transfer. That's normally not a problem, but in a currency that's depreciating every day, it's a big disadvantage.

Withdrawing money is a disaster in Venezuela