Customers of a Japanese bank will no longer have to drum their fingers as they wait for their money at the cash machine, instead they will be invited to have a quick gamble.
From August 8, the cash dispensers of Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank, a regional bank based in the city of Ogaki, will double as slot machines, giving customers the chance to win back the fee they pay for using the machines out of business hours.
Impatient customers who line up three lucky sevens will cancel the 105 yen (54p) fee they usually pay the bank for using the machines after hours.
There will even be a jackpot of 1,000 yen (£5.10) if players stop the slots to complete a set of “gold” or “super gold” icons named after new financial products being offered by the bank.
Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank say customers will have a good chance of winning. The bank says the odds of cancelling the machine fee are one in ten, and one in 500 for the top prize.
“We want our customers to enjoy a little excitement during the waiting time when they operate an ATM,” a spokesman for the bank said today. “We also want people to come to our outlets as we have been offering various products and services,” he said.
Customers from other banks will be able to come and gamble on the ATM’s, but they will be charged a punitive fee of 210 yen (£1.08) for playing (and carrying out their transactions).
The slot machine games will only be available to punters after normal business hours. During the day the customers will have to wait quietly as they use the cash dispensers for free.
