Shanxi province's first ATM designed for money exchange was put into operation on Aug 8 at the main Shanxi branch of Bank of China in Taiyuan, chinanews.com reported.

Customers of the bank will now be able to change large bank notes into smaller notes and coins as well as convert small change into larger bills.

The machine is also able to detect counterfeit bank notes.

Liu, an owner of a small supermarket said that the machine would come in handy so that he could break big notes to get small change at the beginning of each month.

According to the branch, the bank processes around 100,000 yuan ($15,051) in bank notes everyday through teller services, so the ATM will serve to alleviate waiting times.

More branches will be equipped with similar ATMs in the future, providing people in Shanxi province with a higher quality of and more efficient financial service.

An employee from the Shanxi branch of Bank of China helps Liu to operate the new money exchange ATM. [Photo/chinanews.com]