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ATM UK review

Frances Edwards

We review ATM UK, a simple free iPhone app that lets you find the nearest cash point

ATM UK lets you find cash in a hurry

Published on Sep 4, 2009

Apps don't come much more straightforward than ATM UK, but then again few come in more useful. As the name spells out ATM UK makes up for the lack of a sorely-missed feature in the iPhone's generally excellent Google Maps integration: ATM/cash point locations.

By contrast, ATM UK lists more than 6,000 cash points in the UK and supports Barclays, HBOS, NatWest and HSBC machines - with each brand clearly labelled in the search results. These results are sorted by distance from your current location and can be displayed on the app's integrated map. Surprisingly, ATM UK doesn't use Google Maps, preferring to use OpenStreetMap.org but the option exists to have them open separately in Google Maps. Results can also be emailed to others in need of assistance.

Rather cleverly ATM UK doesn't actually require an Internet connection to function, but since it relies on GPS /Wi-Fi triangulation to pinpoint your location, you are likely to have a signal at most times in any case. It is this reliance on GPS, however, which reveals the app's weakest point.

Cash point searches can only be carried out based on your current location, which is of little help if you're trying to plan ahead. Of course, if you are organised enough to check where cash machines are located in the first place perhaps you should also be organised enough to withdraw the money you need beforehand!

This omission can be forgiven considering the app is free. However - and with such simple functionality you might expect this - there is still great competition even in this niche sector. It goes to show quite how relentless the near exponential development of the App Store has been over its one-year lifespan. As a result ATM UK does not have everything its own way.

'AroundMe' is yet another free app and, as well as checking cash points, it will also list bars, banks, coffee houses, petrol stations, hospitals, hotels and much, much more. Despite this we'd still go for ATM UK since it does what it says on the tin and the iPhone's Google Maps tool handles the vast majority of these additional searches anyway. So ATM UK is handy, useful, simple and free. This is an easy recommendation.