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HOLE IN THE WALL I’m fond of technologies that become so obvious, so useful in our lives that we stop thinking about them. The Automated Teller Machine (ATM) is one such device. Seriously, when did one last cross your thoughts? Maybe when you used one – though if you believe the news, that was a long time ago. Or perhaps when UK bank Barclays decided to rename all their ATMs as “holes in the wall,” a linguistic innovation that didn’t catch on.
NO MONEY UNTIL MONDAY It’s rare to have the moment when the idea for a new technology arrived accurately recorded, but the ATM is one innovation where the creation myth is complete. John Shepherd-Barron was walking down the street in Dorking, a small town in the south of the UK, on a Saturday morning in 1967. On a mission to reach the bank, to draw out pocket money for his son, he arrived at midday – and the doors shut in his face. No money until Monday. What to do? Shepherd-Barron came up with an idea for a machine that could deliver banknotes, 24/7.
BANK CARD NO MORE Soon, inserting your bank card won’t be the only way to access your money from a cash machine: Barclays is rolling out contactless card ATMs in the UK. Meanwhile in the US, Citibank is trialling a machine with no screen at all. How do you get your dollars? By having your retina scanned. Slightly less creepy is the miniature ATM, developed by Diebold – just 1.5 times the width of a dollar bill. Less a hole, more a sliver in the wall.
ORIGINAL MOBILE BANKING
Photo by Phu Cuong Pham on Unsplash
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There’s something romantic about the notion of an ATM on the back of a truck. Long before “mobile banking” described moving money on your phone, it meant putting a branch on wheels to reach those living in rural areas who otherwise might not get access to banking services. You can still find some of these ATMs on wheels today: Royal Bank of Scotland has a mobile branch that travels through the Scottish Highlands on a set schedule , while the Bank of Bird-In-Hand (the best name for a bank ever) in rural Pennsylvania has a 29-foot long “bankmobile,” complete with full ATM, to serve its customers in the Amish community.
