Mazel Tov! Israeli weddings introduce ATMs

Updated: 17:51, Thursday, 10 July 2008

A new device at one Israeli wedding hall gives new meaning to the Hebrew expression 'Mazel Tov', meaning 'good fortune'.

1 of 1 Gan Oranim Hall Offers guests a high-tech way to give a gift
Gan Oranim Hall
Offers guests a high-tech way to give a gift

Guests can now insert a credit card into a machine at the entrance of the Gan Oranim wedding hall, tap in a sum and leave a gift for the bride and groom.

'It's new in Israel and the world,' said the hall's Aya Alon Kaufman. 'It's very convenient... guests can give a gift even if they forget their chequebooks.'

She said couples pay 500 shekels (€95) to rent the ATM-like device and the recorded funds are transferred into their bank account the next day.

The machine prints out a 'deposit' slip with the guest's name, which can be put into an envelope along with a congratulatory note and inserted into a slot in the device for the couple to retrieve.

Rather than bring boxed gifts, guests at Israeli weddings usually leave cash or cheques in envelopes they slip into a safe placed at the reception hall's door.

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