The timeline of ATM development spans 5 decades, with the first full-function teller (as we know them today) being introduced in 1971. The concept, however, of a cash dispensing device outside of a bank came in the late 1930s.
The initial idea for an external cash machine was proposed by Luther George Simjian (1905 – 1997). Born in Armenia, Simjian emigrated to the USA in 1920 following the Armenian Genocide during and after World War 1. After his move to New York City in 1934, Simjian invented a self-posing portrait camera, and founded the company Photoreflex.
It was five years later when the Armenian formulated his idea of the Automated Teller Machine. Although he persuaded Citibank to give the product a 6 month trial, the results were disappointing. Reviewing the performance of the machine, Simjian concluded that the ATM was not a popular addition to personal banking. He stated that the only people who commonly used the machines were those unwilling to deal with human tellers such as prostitutes and gamblers.
Due to the lack of demand shown for the ATM, Simjian had lost out on the success and fame which is now largely associated with two other men, John Shepherd-Barron and Don Wetzel. The major flaw in Simjian’s concept was its timing.
The next important date on our timeline is June 1967, and the unveiling of the first ATM to dispense paper currency on a 24 hour basis. The machine was installed outside a Barclay’s bank branch in North London; the bank of John Shepherd-Barron (1925 – 2010).
The Scottish inventor was born in India before relocating to Britain. He was educated at the University of Edinburgh, and at Trinity College, Cambridge. Shepherd-Barron joined De La Rue Instruments in the 1960s, and is accredited with the idea of a self-sufficient cash dispensing machine.
Following a trip to the bank to withdraw money, only to find that the branch was closed, Shepherd-Barron is said to have experienced a eureka moment whilst taking a bath that evening. As the creation came prior to the development of plastic debit and credit cards, users inserted specially developed cheques into the teller in order to receive their money. The cheques were verified by a four-digit PIN number (originally this was 6 digits long before being reduced on the advice of Mrs Shepherd-Barron, who claimed to be unable to remember 6 digits).
Following on from the development of the ATM by Shepherd-Barron, American engineer Donald Wetzel of Docutel was highly praised for his work in the evolution of the cash machine. He is believed to have engineered the Docuteller ATM; this is the first modern magstripe machine in which magnetically encoded plastic (credit cards) were inserted instead of paper cheques.
The development of ATM software has come a long way since its beginnings in the late 1930s, although many of the patents and ideas involved in the early stages form the backbone of modern day “holes in the wall”.
Harvey McEwan writes to make insurance (especially car insurance!) a happier place.
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