ATM'S


An automated teller machine (ATM) also known as a Cash Point  is a computerised telecommunications device that provides the clients of a financial institution with access to financial transactions in a public space without the need for a cashier, human clerk or bank teller. ATMs are known by various other names including ATM Machine, automatic banking machine, cash machine and various regional variants derived from trademarks on ATM systems held by particular banks. Invented by IBM, the first ATM was introduced in December 1972 at Lloyds Bank in the UK. On most modern ATMs, the customer is identified by inserting a plastic ATM card with a magnetic stripe or a plastic smart card with a chip, that contains a unique card number and some security information such as an expiration date. Authentication is provided by the customer entering a personal identification number.

Using an ATM, customers can access their bank accounts in order to make cash withdrawals, credit card cash advances and check their account balances as well as purchase prepaid cellphone credit. If the currency being withdrawn from the ATM is different from that which the bank account is denominated in , the money will be converted at a wholesale exchange rate. Thus, ATMs often provide the best possible exchange rate for foreign travelers and are heavily used for this purpose as well.

The idea of self-service in retail banking developed through independent and simultaneous efforts in Japan, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. In the USA, Luther George Simjian has been credited with developing and building the first cash dispenser machine. There is strong evidence to suggest that Simjian worked on this device before 1959 while his 132Nd patent was first filed on 30 June 1960. The rollout of this machine, called Bankograph, was delayed a couple of years. This was due in part to Simjian's Reflectone Electronics Inc. being acquired by Universal Match Corporation. An experimental Bankograph was installed in New York City in 1961 by the City Bank of New York but removed after 6 months due to the lack of customer acceptance. The Bankograph was an automated envelope deposit machine and it did not have cash dispensing features.

A first cash dispensing device was used in Tokyo in 1966. Although little is known of this first device, it seems to have been activated with a credit card rather than accessing current account balances. It was followed in 1967 by a machine in Uppsala.
ATMs are placed not only near or inside the premises of banks but also in locations such as shopping malls, airports, grocery stores, petrol stations, restaurants or anywhere frequented by large numbers of people. There are two types of ATM installations- on- and off-premise. On premise ATMs are typically more advanced, multi-function machines that complement a bank branch's capabilities and are thus more expensive. Off-premise machines are deployed by financial institutions and Independent Sales Organizations where there is a simple need for cash, so they are generally cheaper mono-function devices. In Canada, ABMs not operated by a financial institution are known as "White Label ABMs". In North America banks often have drive-through lanes providing access to ATMs. Many ATMs have a sign above them, called a topper, indicating the name of the bank or organization owning the ATM and possibly including the list of ATM networks to which that machine is connected.


Most ATMs are connected to interbank networks, enabling people to withdraw and deposit money from machines not belonging to the bank where they have their account or in the country where their accounts are held. Some examples of interbank networks include PULSE, PLUS, Interswitch, STAR and LINK.
ATM's rely on authorization of a financial transaction by the card issuer or other authorizing institution via the communications network. This is often performed through an ISO 8583 messaging system.

Many banks charge ATM usage fees. In some cases, these fees are charged solely to users who are not customers of the bank where the ATM is installed.