BOLD TEXT, PLS!!SHOPPERS, gamblers and holidaymakers travelling to Macau will no longer have to replenish their wallets before leaving Hong Kong.
Unlike in Hong Kong, where they are largely found alongside banks, automatic teller machines (ATMs) are spreading throughout Macau in more non-traditional places like casinos, hotel lobbies and shopping malls.
The Portuguese enclave is catching up with its neighbour, famous in banking circles for having some of the most intensively used ATMs in the world.
The idea of an ATM rubbing shoulders, so to speak, with a one-armed bandit may seem a little odd to some, but Andrew Liu, managing director at NCR (Hong Kong) Ltd, said the aim was to be convenient.
He said: ''Banking is a very competitive business. To stay ahead in an increasingly competitive financial services market, banks are leaving no stone unturned in their efforts to provide additional services to their customers.
''Installing an ATM in a casino is certainly no more odd than installing one at the Hong Kong Stadium for the Rugby Sevens tournament, something a major bank has done for the past few years - or aboard US Navy battleships, [which is] something our colleagues in the United States have been doing since 1988.'' A short time ago, NCR won a contract from the People's Construction Bank of China to install what will be the largest ATM network in Guangdong Province and one of the largest in China. More than 100 NCR ATMs are involved in the deal.