Currency exchanges were frequently located near public transportation in Chicago during the mid-1970s. This one was in the Wilson Elevated Train Station in Uptown. They gave people who didn’t have checking accounts a way to pay their utility bills. They had little to do with exchanging foreign currency for US dollars. Note that this one also specialized in food stamps, license plates, and notary services, check cashing and money orders. Currency exchanges were an essential service in the largely cash economy that existed in Uptown during the mid-1970s.