Port-au-Prince , Haiti ( CNN ) -- The longest and most visible lines in Haiti 's capital are not for food , water or gas . They are for money . Earthquake survivors need cash and are waiting hours outside wire transfer businesses , including Western Union , that are starting to reopen . `` I have no money , '' 32-year-old Anderson Bellegarde said Thursday , in his sixth hour standing outside a UniBank money wire branch . The business in Carrefour , near the epicenter of the earthquake and about eight miles from the capital of Port-au-Prince , was operating at a crawl . A line of Haitians loudly pleaded with guards , putting their hands around the blue iron gate and urging to be let in more quickly to access funds wired to them from beyond the disaster zone . Full coverage | Twitter updates . Very little currency trickled into Haitian hands Thursday . There was little financial movement in the disaster zone , with most banks remaining shut . Bellegarde looked at the closed bank next to the money transfer station and squinted his eyes . `` That 's where our money 's at , and they 're holding it , '' he told CNN Radio . `` We need it so we can buy food . '' Basic groceries are relatively easy to find for sale throughout the streets of Port-au-Prince . Those with canned goods , some produce and even ice and bread have formed a massive , impromptu market . But most quake survivors do not have the cash to buy any of it . iReport : List of missing , found | Impact Your World . `` I have not eaten for two days , '' Bellegarde said , `` I 'm only drinking water . '' Banks have been closed since the January 12 earthquake . There were widespread rumors that the Haitian government would force them to open Thursday , but that did n't happen . Now , officials say provincial banks will likely open Friday , and branches in Port-au-Prince will restart business Saturday .
Quake survivors are waiting hours outside wire transfer businesses . Banks have remained closed since the January 12 earthquake . Basic groceries are easy to find , but people ca n't access their money to buy them . Comment: