NEW YORK — From New York to London and Tokyo, the Y2K computer bug did not stop New Year's revelers from using automatic teller machines to withdraw extra cash on the first day of the new millennium.
In New York, Deputy Mayor Joseph Lhota said all of the city's ATM machines, credit card devices and other financial services appeared to be functioning shortly after midnight.
Tourists Robert Chandler and Daniel King had no thought of the Y2K bug when they entered an ATM foyer on Fifth Avenue. Their goal was to warm up after spending eight hours standing in Times Square.
"We're from Texas, so we're used to warmer weather," Chandler said.
In London, Mamun Choudhury did not hesitate to use an ATM at a downtown Barclays bank branch to check the balance in his account.
"I was just thinking about my money. I wasn't thinking about the year 2000 or the millennium bug," the gas company employee said.
Such nonchalance contrasts sharply with fears expressed in advance of the new year about potential Y2K problems for banks and their customers.
Around the world, some technology experts worried that the Y2K bug could cause computers to miscalculate loan payments or due dates, lose deposits or payments, or disable ATMs. But that didn't seem to be happening Saturday.
In South Korea, people were seen drawing cash from ATMs in subway stations and 24-hour convenience stores after midnight.
In Hong Kong, a steady stream of people went to ATMs to check their balances. Some said they were just curious, while others joked that they wanted to know if any computer glitches had made them richer.
"I'm involved in debugging ... And I've always been confident," said Michelle Cheng, a computer engineer.
Most Japanese ATMs were shut down Friday evening as they are every New Year's, and will not resume service until Jan. 4.
Still, employees at Japanese banks were busier than usual. Banks were printing out hard copies of customer account data to prepare for glitches that could be caused by the Y2K computer bug.
Although bank machines worked in Europe, customers were few and far between at many ATMs during the first wee hours of New Year's day.
Problems did arise in Rome, where cash machines at several branches of the Banca di Roma failed to connect with the bank's computer network. Italian government officials insisted that the millennium bug was not the cause of the problem.
British banks appeared to be among the best prepared for the New Year.
Bank of Scotland and National Westminster Bank reported no problems with their ATMs, while Standard Chartered, which operates cash machines in Africa and Asia, said its machines also were working smoothly.