I”m not sure this belongs with the occasional cultural differences series I have been doing from time to time to show differences between Germany/Europe and Canada/North America. Maybe it is just an automation thing.

In Canada, when I go to withdraw money from an automated teller at my bank (or any other institution I have used) I have a choice. I can take my cash in twenty-dollar bills, or in multiples thereof. 

Oh, I think some more sophisticated machines may now offer fifty-dollar notes, but that may just be my memory playing tricks on me. Ask any Canadian if he or she can change a twenty-dollar bill and we can’t – it is all we have in our wallets.

While credit and debit adds are gaining popularity, Germany is still very much a cash society. I carry far more cash than I do in Canada where credit cards are accepted for small amounts and I make more frequent bank withdrawals. Always at the ATM – my account has a service charge of I use a human teller.

One of the first things I noticed here was that bank machines aren’t limited to twenty-Euro bills. As you can see in the photo, when I withdrew 100 Euros yesterday the ATM gave me a 50, a 20, two 10s and two 5s. That makes so much more sense than five twenties. For small purchases you want smaller denominations for your bills.

Canadian banks could do that, couldn’t they? I wonder why they don’t?