The ATM is 50 years old today

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It’s the golden anniversary of the ATM. On June 27, 1967, a Barclays Bank branch in London unveiled the world’s first automated teller machine. It solved a common problem: In much of the world, cash could be obtained only when a bank was open, typically weekdays between about 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., known as “bankers’ hours.” The limited schedule often meant long lines. And it could be difficult, if not impossible, to obtain money from a bank other than your own. The engineer often identified as having developed the first ATM, John Shepherd-Barron, said that his “aha” moment was a byproduct of arriving at his bank one minute after it closed. “That night I started thinking that there must be a better way to get cash when I wanted it,” he told the BBC in 2007. “I thought of the chocolate vending machine, where money was put in a slot and a bar dispatched. Surely money could be dispensed in the same way.” The first ATM had limited functionality; it neither accepted deposits nor dispensed more than £10 (then worth $28) at a time. Still, ATMs quickly gained popularity. They were convenient and thus contributed to customer loyalty, and they helped reduce bank operating costs. In 1969 the ATM crossed the Atlantic. A Chemical Bank branch in Rockville Centre, N.Y., announced in a newspaper advertisement: “On Sept. 2 our bank will open at 9:00 and never close again.” By 2015 there were 3.2 million ATMs world-wide, and they’re found on all seven continents, including Antarctica.

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