Let's say that you discover that you are running low on cash.  You hop in the car, head for the nearest ATM, put your card in the machine, and take out what you need. Maybe you decide to run a few errands while you are out.  Simple.  Straightforward.  Nothing to it.  In no time at all you are back home and moving on with life.

So let's run through that situation on the other side of the big pond.  You discover you are low on cash so you call the taxi.  An hour later he shows up and you take off across town to your bank.  You and a million other people.  Traffic is very heavy.  But you finally get there only to discover that the bank is closed for the day.  CLOSED FOR THE DAY!  What is this? Unfortunately you don't travel with your Visa card so you travel all the way back across town to your place, run inside quickly and get your Visa card.  Off you go to the closest ATM.  But it is closed down today.  No problem.  You move on to the next one.  Same problem.  Then you try another.  It lets you put your card in and go through the motions, only to tell you it is broken down.  Moving right along, you finally find a bank that has a functioning ATM machine.  With money in it.  What a novel concept.  So you take out the money you need.  Three hours after you left home you arrive back, completely worn out and wondering if it was worth it.  Life is seldom easy out here.