The Emirates Palace, venue for the Abu Dhabi Film Festival, includes an ATM that dispenses gold. Sadly, only to those who can afford it.

I’ve been to some swanky hotels. But never to one that has an ATM that dispenses gold.

The Emirates Palace, host to the sixth Abu Dhabi Film Festival, has exactly such a machine in its lobby (said lobby is the size of at least a few football pitches).

Dubbed ‘the world’s first gold vending machine’, the ATM monitors the price of gold minute-by minute and offers bars, hearts or coin-shaped (designs include panda and kangaroo) chunks of 24-carat gold up to the value of £1,200.

The machine has various security measures, including anti-money laundering software.

Sadly, my Tesco clubcard wasn’t one of the recognised methods of payment.

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