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ATMs are empty in sections of Buenos Aires because of a shortage of banknotes

 A shortage of banknotes in Argentina has made it difficult for consumers to withdraw cash from ATMs.

January 9, 2011

Consumers in Buenos Aires have been unable to withdraw cash from ATMs because there is a shortage of banknotes throughout Argentina, according to several media reports.

The Buenos Aires Herald, a daily newspaper in Buenos Aires, reports there has been a cash shortage at the ATMs, mainly in public banks, since the end of December. 

Cardholders have had to wait three to four hours at an ATM and sometimes you can’t get cash, Carlos Fanjul, a politician, told Reuters, a wire service. “It’s been tough to take out money,” Fanjul added.

More than 400 workers have had to go to government offices to get their wages because they are unable to withdraw the funds from ATMs, Buenos Aires Heraldreports.

There are different explanations for the lack of banknotes. 

The shortage in banknotes has been caused by the government’s refusal to recognize the burgeoning inflation by printing larger denominations. Argentina has one of the world’s highest inflation rates at more than 25 percent, according to private forecasters, which is double the government’s estimate, Reuters reports.

If the government printed banknotes in denominations bigger than 100 pesos, which is currently the largest, it would signal an acceptance of soaring prices, according to Reuters.

A spokesperson for Argentina’s central bank, however, blamed the shortage of banknotes on strong holiday demand and unspecified technical problems. For years, bloggers have warned travelers that Argentina’s government has limited cash withdrawals from ATMs.

At the end of 2006, Argentina had 7,362 ATMs. The number of machines, however, was expected to grow 40 percent over the next five years.

Argentina’s shortage of banknotes comes on top of the country’s shortage of coins. For more than a year, there has been a shortage of coins needed to  make change. At one point, Buenos Aires’s subway system allowed residents to ride free because the toll booths ran out of coins.