12

I'm sure travellers to the United Kingdom carrying an overseas/non-UK debit card can relate to this question.

Most cash machines start dispensing starting from £10 and in multiples of £10. That means if are just about to leave the United Kingdom and you just need £2-3, you will not only have to leave with £7-8 worth of heavy coins, but you also incur the unnecessary non-UK debit card exchange rates and foreign ATM charges for those unwanted £7-8. Are there cash machines in central London / Tube Zone 1 area which can dispense a crisp £5 note?

Improve this question
6
  • 4
    Yes! My friend used to hunt them down. I'll chase him down and find out.
    – Mark Mayo
    Commented Oct 18, 2014 at 9:15
  • 7
    Ones near University buildings tend to be the most likely to, I've found
    – Gagravarr
    Commented Oct 18, 2014 at 15:01
  • 7
    Travelling around central London just to get £5 rather than £10 from a cash machine seems like a lot of hassle for very little gain. Just spend the extra £5 at the airport on snacks for the flight.
    – David Richerby
    Commented Oct 18, 2014 at 15:51
  • 3
    If you're about to leave the UK and need only £2-3 are you sure you need cash at all? Perhaps you could make any necessary transactions with the debit card?
    – Stephen Kennedy
    Commented Oct 18, 2014 at 16:47
  • Thanks @DavidRicherby, yes you can always spend the remaining cash in the airport. However, just in case you are about to leave central London and you are walking past a £5 cash machines which you know about beforehand, that would be great!
    – sks
    Commented Oct 18, 2014 at 20:49

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
14

Got it. Yes, there are, and there's even a handy website:

Link's ATM locator

which, when you click one on the map, will tell you if it supports 5 quid notes or not.

Checking the one I remember, it shows that indeed, the BT phone/ATM kiosk opposite Waterloo station entrance (address: Waterloo road, London, SE1 7LY) still dispenses 5 quid notes. :D

I'm sure others will reveal themselves with some searching, as this several year old article shows there were still 1400+ ATMs around then that dispensed them.

Improve this answer
6
  • 1
    has a superb answer. If you are on the go there are three banks who seem to have more ATMs that do £5. HSBC, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Cooperative Bank. Also machines branded Tesco, including inside the supermarket (these are Royal Bank of Scotland but branded)
    – Martin Jevon
    Commented Oct 18, 2014 at 17:40
  • 1
    Thanks Mark Mayo! If you don't mind, I'll check out one cash machine for real before marking this answer as correct!
    – sks
    Commented Oct 18, 2014 at 21:02
  • 1
    @SumanKrishnaSaha looking forward to it, maybe a photo of the machine too if it has any identifying features :)
    – Mark Mayo
    Commented Oct 21, 2014 at 7:02
  • Sure @MarkMayo. I walked past the Nationwide cash machine on Kensington High Street W8 6SH yesterday, but it was out-of-service. However, I have a hunch that the minimum withdrawal amount might still be £10 for these ATMs, and just that they can dispense £5 notes depending on the algorithm. I'll keep a lookout, comment back over here and mark the answer as correct if I find such a machine. Thanks again!
    – sks
    Commented Oct 21, 2014 at 9:09
  • @MarkMayo, I'm giving up hope for the machine on Kensington High Street - I walk past it every day and it is out of service. On the lookout for another machine and hopefully will comment back soon.
    – sks
    Commented Nov 4, 2014 at 0:23

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .