Would you Adam and Eve it? ATM machines with a Cockney language option are being installed for visitors to the Olympics.
They will be placed on and around the approach to the main Olympic site in a bid to thwart the cashless policy of the Games, something one East End landlord argued was “nonsensical” as it will "be a bad thing for local businesses".
The machines, operated by independent ATM operator Bank Machine, will mean that visitors can still withdraw their “sausage and mash” (cash) from their “taxi rank” (bank).
Fancy withdrawing some sausage and mash? Go right ahead
The machines give users the option to withdraw a “Speckled Hen” (ten) or a “Horn of Plenty” (twenty).
They can also look at their balance on the “Charlie Sheen” (screen) and even request a “Huckleberry Finn change” (pin number change).
Once inside the Olympic site visitors will only be able to use Visa cards to make contactless purchases.
This system has been brought in as part of Visa’s sponsorship deal with the Games.
It works using radio transmitter chips built into most credit and debit Visa cards - and some mobile phones.
Shoppers make low-cost payments by passing their card over a reader, rather than punching in a pin number.
Bank Machine claimed, however, that the contactless system has proved unpopular in the UK and the U.S and that the cashless system will merely prove an inconvenience for visitors.
The nearest Bank Machine Cockney ATM to the Olympic site will be at the Builders Arms Pub, a hostelry that has been serving locals for a number of years and will now be welcoming visitors from all around the planet.
Kevin Leach, the Landlord of the Builders’ Arms, said: “My cockney cash machine provides cash and amusement for international visitors, whilst helping to keep the East London spirit alive. It also thwarts the nonsensical plans to make the Olympics ‘contactless’.
“Cutting out cash is only going to be a bad thing for local London businesses like us. We are a cash only pub, we’ve been here for 14 years and we deserve to benefit from the Olympics at least as much as the ‘pay and wave’ brigade do."
Ron Delnevo, Managing Director of Bank Machine, said: "Cutting cash access across the Olympic venues has been a serious error of judgement by those involved. The public from over 200 countries who will be visiting the games will be forced to use Visa cards. Bank Machine is actively supporting both those visitors and local businesses by providing free and unfettered access to cash."