With the Olympics approaching, London is overflowing with tourists. With these hoards of visitors, taking out British pounds may become a huge hassle.
Lines at ATMs will significantly increase and stores at the Olympic Park only take certain credit cards. British authorities are recommending visitors to prepare and bring British pounds with them to London.
Last month, Britain had a test run and cash machines ran dry over a four-day holiday. During the popular Diamond Jubilee celebration in June celebrating Queen Elizabeth II's 60 years as Queen, many ATMs ran out of pounds due to the massive amounts of people. This may not fare well for tourists during The Olympics with an estimated 11 million extra visitors expected to be in greater London.
There will be 1,700 cash machines near the Olympics available and Michelle Whiteman, a spokeswoman for the Payments Council said to The Associated Press, "We've been working to make sure that there is enough cash to meet demand. But at any point in time, a cash machine may run out of cash. It's just that it will be more noticeable during an event like this."
Since Visa is an exclusive sponsor at The Olympics this year, visitors will not be allowed to use other credit cards at the event. Visa has removed 27 ATMs from the Olympics and replaced it with only eight Visa-only cash machines. Matt Kauffman, who is head of Olympic management for Visa Inc said that 98 percent of U.K.residents have a Visa debit or Visa credit card.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
