Cash On Demand

Somalia Installs First-Ever ATM

But few use machine in war-riden nation.

Roiled by civil war for more than two decades, as well as bouts with famine and an ongoing piracy problem, Somalia has had few banks, let alone cash machines. Now the Salaam Somali Bank has installed an ATM in the upscale Jazeera Palace Hotel in the capital, Mogadishu. The machine dispenses United States dollars, which are widely accepted in the city, and are used in local trading, according to the African Development Bank. There are ATMs in Hargeisa, but the northen city is part of the breakaway Somaliland region. The Jazeera Palace Hotel's general manager says he has seen people using the Mogadishu machine, but that it is not being widely used. That is not surprising. The ATM will likely be mostly a boon for visitors from the Somali disapora and foreigners. Few locals have bank accounts, or credit and debit cards.