Although the details of Greece's third bailout program have yet to be finalized, Monday marked the beginning of a new dawn for Greeks. Last week, PM Alexis Tsipras forced a set of draconian “reforms” through parliament and sacked political rivals, effectively legislating away the country's sovereignty while condemning the Greek people to a fate of even tougher austerity and ensuring that despite rhetoric out of Athens, “normality” will not return to Greece for a very long time. 

Greek banks reopened and as expected there were long lines. On the bright side, the queues were described as “orderly.” From AP: 

In downtown Athens, people lined up in an orderly fashion as the banks unlocked their doors at 8 a.m., taking a number and reading the paper as they waited for their turn at the till.

Many restrictions on transactions, including cash withdrawals, remained, however.

The Greek government kept the daily cash withdrawal limit at 60 euros ($65) but added a weekly limit of 420 euros ($455) that will be available beginning Sunday. This means depositors who don't make it to the bank on Monday to withdraw cash could pull out 120 euros ($130) on Tuesday instead, and so on, so Greeks don't have to feel they need to visit an ATM every day.

Bank customers will still not be able to cash checks, only deposit them into their accounts, and they will not be able to get cash abroad with their credit or cash cards, only make purchases. There are also restrictions on opening new accounts or activating dormant ones.

Meanwhile, the VAT hike – one of the most contentious “red lines” from Greece's negotiations with creditors – kicked in. The tax rose to 23% from 13% on everything from salt to firewood. Restaurants and taxi fares are also affected. Just call it an EMU member fee.