China, already the world’s second largest bullion consumer, has installed the country’s first gold vending machine in a busy shopping district in Beijing.

Shoppers in the popular Wangfujing Street can insert cash or use a bank card to withdraw gold bars or coins of various weights based on market prices.

Each withdrawal is capped at 2.5 kilograms (5.5 pounds) or one million yuan (about $156,500) worth of gold.

The Golden Nugget hotel in downtown Las Vegas is living up to its name with the installation of an ATM that dispenses gold instead of cash.

Visitors are now able to buy gold coins and 24-karat “bars” weighing from 1 gram to 1 ounce at the new Gold to Go machine.

Prices automatically adjust every 10 minutes to reflect actual market value. The one ounce coin, at the moment, goes for about $1,400.

Abu Dhabi’s top hotel, the Emirates Palace, recently debuted a vending machine that dispenses gold bars.

The machine, named Gold To Go, allows customers to trade cash for gold in quantities ranging from coins up to 10-gram bars.

Customers using the shiny machine — itself gold-plated — can choose from 320 items, including gold customized with logos.

The price of gold, which was up to $1,245 an ounce yesterday, is measured by the machine every ten minutes.

A German asset management company plans to set up 500 Gold-to-Go ATMs in Germany, Switzerland and Austria this year.

A gold-dispensing automatic teller machine (ATM) was on display at Frankfurt’s main railway station for a one-day marketing test this week.

A one-gram piece of gold, the size of a child’s little fingernail and about as thin, cost US$42.25-a 30% premium to the spot market price.