We’ve Had ATMs For 50 Years. What’s Next?

The first ATM was born in London on June 27, 1967. With the rise of new technologies, its future is looking bleak.

Flashback to 1967

Just 50 years ago, a machine was distributing banknotes for the first time. It was a real revolution at a time when individuals around the world had to go to their bank’s counter to collect cash.

On June 27, 1967, the British comedian and actor Reg Varney was the first man to ever make a cash withdrawal in an automated teller machine, or ATM, installed on the outside wall of a Barclay’s agency in London. This first machine has since been modernized and, on its 50th anniversary, Barclays has covered it with a gold color.

Actor Reg Varney was the first person to ever use a cash machine. Credit: PA Archive

John Shepherd-Barron, its inventor, first had the idea of creating a cash machine two years earlier in 1965. Arriving too late on a Saturday morning to withdraw the cash he needed throughout the week, he had to ask his mechanic to give him money in exchange of a cheque. As he explained,

That night I started thinking that there must be a better way to get cash when I wanted it. 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.

A Worldwide Success

The success of his invention was dazzling. Consumers greatly appreciated being able to withdraw cash without having to go through a bank clerk. The planetary success that followed is well-known.

People scramble to get a look at the world’s first ATM. Credit: PA Archive

There are over three million ATMs today. According to the World Bank, which has made ATM count an economic indicator, the lowest density is in Afghanistan (1 ATM per 100,000 inhabitants) and the highest in South Korea (278 ATMs per 100,000 inhabitants). There is even one in the American base of the South Pole in McMurdo, dubbed the “world’s loneliest ATM.”