I’ve blogged about the cash machine of the future before, with BBVA coming up with the idea of side-facing screens.
Very nice too.
Recently I saw some other variations of the cash machine, such as the new video ATMs being rolled out by banks such as Dollar Bank in America.
And I thought ATM stood for AUTOMATED TELLER machine.
Ah well, we just can’t get rid of those tellers can we, although the Video Teller Machine might get rid of a few branches.
Then the question is: will we ever get rid of cash?
I’ve blogged lots about this before, and the answer is no.
Sweden is a leading example of the attempts to get rid of cash, but it still has not eradicated its usage.
Cash represents only 3% of Sweden's economy according to the Bank for International Settlements, compared with 9% in the Eurozone and 7% in the USA.
That’s good for reducing robberies – the number of bank robberies in Sweden plunged from 110 in 2008 to 16 in 2011 — but it still means there is cash, and therefore cash machines (although it does intrigue me find the cashless cash machine).
So what are the new forms of cash machine?
The QR machine.
The idea of this is that you preload your cash request on a smartphone app, walk up to the ATM and then scan a QR code to complete the transaction.
No receipt of course, just a text message to confirm everything transacted.
There’s also the same ATM in NFC form. In this case, you just touch your phone to the ATM rather than scan a code.
But what about the no screen and no code ATM?
Well now I’ve seen everything, as there are two or three of these knocking around.
For example, here’s NCR’s Pillar ATM.
The Pillar ATM is a freestanding ATM that features a fingerprint biometric sensor, pre-set cash buttons, a cash dispenser and receipt printer.
The ATM is designed with accessibility and ease of use in mind.
For example, you walk up to this one and just place your thumb on the light reader and then push a button for $10, $20, etc, based upon the light codes.
This version of the Pillar ATM was created for rural areas in countries such as India and China, and issues a receipt.
There’s then an NFC version that has no receipt, just a text message to confirm you got the cash.
The NFC version works with the preloaded smartphone app described earlier, and then you just walk up to the machine, place your phone on the green light and hey presto, you get your cash.
No PIN, PIN pad, screen or any other ATM legacy, just a light and a reader.
Now that’s what I call futuristic as you could place these light reader in any wall, counter, check-in desk, bar or anywhere.
It’s getting interesting, isn’t it?
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