Why You Shouldn't Take U.S. ATMs for Granted

Ever wanted to do something bad to an American ATM out of frustration? Well, if you ever do get that feeling, don't, because I can tell you that (as silly as it may sound) I actually miss American ATMs here. What I like about them? Well, here are a couple of things:

1. You can deposit money right at the ATM into your account (you can't do that here at an ATM, and in order to do that at your bank, you have to first go through a customer service rep (who approves the request) and then a teller (who takes your money); so you have 2 stops before you have even made a deposit. Not to mention that you can only deposit money at the branch in which you first opened your account. Talk about in-flexibility!)

2. US ATMs tell you how much money you have left in your account. At least the ones, for the bank that houses your accounts. Here, they don't, unless you request to view your balance, for which you are charged (it's not much, but it's the principle of that matter that counts, I think).

Well, to be fair, there are a couple of cool things you can do at an ATM here, that you can't in the US--like pay your electricity or phone bill for example. Now, that is convenient. But why the hell they can't make it so you can deposit money and not have to go to only one branch in all of Sofia is beyond me!