Problems that we Venezuelans face every day: we are running out of cash

Hi guys! I made this post because it is a very serious problem that is beginning to affect very strongly in the country and is that cash is scarce ... yes, the cash.

In any country in the world if you need money you go to an ATM and you can withdraw large amounts, enough for what you need at the moment. Its normal.

Venezuela has a crisis so serious that it not only affects food, medicines, public services, but money is now also being affecting by the crisis.

And is that most ATMs in Venezuela (if not all) are without money 80% of the time, and if you find money you should wait in long queues to withdraw a maximum amount of 10,000 bolivars (the equivalent to 0.20 $) this obviously is not enought at all, and you must return to the previous day to withdraw more.

Another way to withdraw money would be through the bank's box office, who are normally authorized to deliver large sums of money, but since cash is really scarce at the moment they are limited to giving 15,000 bolivares fuertes, STILL BEING INSUFFICIENT.

Due to the shortage of money, people have started to sell the money in cash charging 40% -50% commission

All this sounds catastrophic and it might even be hard to believe but I have photos and I even interviewed a passer-by.

To enter the context, let's start with something basic, buying a bread and its price:

A large sweet milk bread is priced at 20,000 bolivares ... and an ATM dispenses a maximum amount of 10,000 bolivares, so we already have a problem.

OK, SO I'll pay with a debit card and I do not have to use cash:

(People queue to pay by debit card)

Usually there are already people waiting in line to pay by card. Which brings us to another thing:

Due to the number of people who now pay in this way at the national level (because there is a scarcity of cash) it is normal for the payment system to collapse often, too often. Making the point late in charging and waiting for more time in these queues.

There are even times when the system is down and you can not charge anything by card, and you just have to wait for the system to return; It usually takes 1 or two hours.

I went to the bank of my card to show them what would happen if you want to withdraw money, a common Tuesday for a Venezuelan who wants to withdraw money.

The first thing I can notice is that the ATM is empty, which is a sign that it has no money, otherwise there would be people queuing up.

(Sorry for the poor quality of the image)

But there says: "Temporarily we can not dispense cash, go to the nearest Cashier (ticket office).

Okay, let's go to the bank's box office to see ...

All those people are waiting ...

To be attended I take a number and I put on hold

Let's see how many people I have ahead of me until my turn:

72 PEOPLE !! this will take a long time ....

It can not be that way in all banks !!!!! or yes?

I'm going to another bank to try my luck and the same story happens:

Empty cashiers = sign that they have no money.

And yes, indeed, I tried them one by one and none dispensed money. Then I go to the bank's box office:

Here there are at least 70 more people.

Incredible ... I'll try my luck at another bank:

Here there were people but the cashiers only carry out consulting operations, they did not dispense money.
And at the bank's box office:

Long queues to withdraw 15,000 bolivars fuertes, not even enough to buy a large pan.

So how would people who need large amounts of cash make commercial purchases? for a business for example.

they have to Buy the cash ...yes ... buy money. .

People sell the cash for the 40% of the total amount
lets say... you need 300.000 bs to buy something
in cash ( efective money )
and the banks only gives you 10.000 :/ *That's a reall problem

so there are people selling Cash, the people pay for it by money transfer (trought internet, or cellphones)

Due to the shortage, people have started to sell it charging fees of up to 40%

THIS CAN NOT BE ALWAYS LIKE THIS !! OR YES?

I interviewed a passer-by to get another view of the situation and ask if the ATMs are always empty and this was our conversation:

ME: I have approached this bank and the cashier does not have cash and I have gone to several banks and they do not have cash either. This is normal? Is it frequent?

-That is normal, that is our daily bread here in San Cristobal and in Venezuela and everywhere because wherever you get to those ATMs, they only provide medical services.

YO: What do you mean by medical services?

-They serve to give only consultation, consult nothing else, and they never have money.

Me: and then another alternative to cash out what would it be?

-Make the queue at the box office but only give 20.000 bolivares fuertes and right now they are only giving 15,000 bs ... only 15,000 for about 2 or 3 hours that the people there are stuck there.

Me: And a bread is worth 20,000 bs ...

-Yes ... it's not enough, it's not enough for half an egg carton ...
-Other than the alternatives that people have to get cash is to go out and see who has cash and buy it.

Me: and do they charge interest for that?

-Up to 40% of the total amount ... to be able to have large amounts of cash, so that people can work commercially buying things, because there is no cash.

Me: When the cash is something that you should just get to a bank and withdraw quickly and now.

-For sure. You could get to the bank and take out anything. People live on that now, selling cash. This is something serious serious.

Me: have you come in previous weeks and the cashier have been the same?

-All the time that I come the cashiers do not have money and inside they are only giving 15,000 bs

Me: How long ago did this start? an approximate in months

-Since the money began to be scarce in ATMs ... about 6 months, since the first few times cash began to run out at ATMs and at the box office they started to lower the daily limit, before you could withdraw more than 100,000 strong bolivars per box office .

It is really serious to where we have arrived.

I hope this post has informed you. These are things that are not talked about on TV, or the media, and are precisely the problems that most plunge us into the crisis.