The ATM is one of the now ubiquitous technologies that make up the backstory of our digital lives. If you want to grasp where things are today and where they are likely to go, one excellent way to start is to invest some time and effort in understanding how this backstory fits together.
History of the Automatic Teller. XopherMV writes “The line was long and slow, and he became increasingly irritated as his lunch hour dribbled away. All at once, he had a flash of inspiration. ‘Golly, all the teller does is cash checks, take deposits, answer questions like “What’s my balance?” and transfer money between accounts,’ recalls Wetzel, now 75 and still living in Dallas with his wife. ‘Wow, I think we could build a machine that could do that!’ And with a $4 million go-ahead from Docutel’s parent company, that’s exactly what he and his engineers did. Read more about the story of the ATM.” [Slashdot:]