

IDEO re-thinks the ATM - blazamos
http://futureselfservicebanking.com

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ugh
Hey, it’s not just a concept! I thought “Great, once again some pie in the sky
concept which will be reality in circa fifty years or not …“ but there are
already pilot units installed which turns this from lame into awesome.

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sh1mmer
I think this is a great concept, and I think they have applied some great
improvements, but I to admit many of these features that are novel in Europe
I've had since I moved to the US 2 years ago.

My Wells Fargo ATMs give me customized short-cuts, touch-screens, cheque
scanning, cash depositing and a bunch of other features. It's not quite as
integrated as this, but it's nowhere near the sad state of cash machines in
the UK.

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rahim
Agreed. The new Bank of America ATMs make getting cash incredibly fast. After
inserting your card, you're presented with a screen that has an input field
for your pin and then just below that are buttons with the most common
withdrawal amounts ($20, $40, $60, etc.). Most of the time I visit an ATM to
get a bit of cash, and can be done in about a minute. Another nicety: after
choosing one of the "quick cash" amounts, the ATM spits your card out before
your money, so that you're less likely to leave your card behind.

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bittersweet
Is this really that new and innovative? The way you describe is exactly how
it's always been in the Netherlands.

I think 90% of our machines are just there to get money, not deposit it, so
maybe we had more chance to come up with a streamlined and simplified process.

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stretchwithme
People can still come up behind you from a different direction. Maybe they
should consider a curved wall to mount this thing on. And also have that wall
be completely smooth with no way to mount a camera that can detect your pin.

Where you enter your card should also be very clear and impossible to cover up
with a fake card reader.

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heresy
Revamping the ATM seems a bit backwards.

I don't carry cash, haven't for 6 or 7 years now.

Electronic transaction fees with debit cards are non-existent.

My paycheck goes straight into my bank account.

Transferring money to other NZ bank accounts electronically costs nothing, and
shows up within 1 day (or instantly if the same bank).

In fact, the only time I get charged is if I actually use an ATM, or go into
the bank to speak to someone.

But there is no merchant in NZ who does not accept electronic transactions, so
no need to use an ATM, or carry cash.

Only necessary if you want to transact without knowledge of the revenue
department :)

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ascuttlefish
I've actually moved away from using electronic transations exclusively to
using them only for receiving my pay, paying bills, and online shopping. Every
pay, I withdraw the cash I've allocated for various things (food, fun,
photography, gas, etc.) and put it in labeled envelopes. It keeps me much more
honest. When the envelope is empty, I just don't do that thing anymore.

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heresy
Using a debit card with the PocketMoney iPhone app keeps me honest.

I know as soon as I've bought something if I've blown the budget.

And for some reason, debit card feels more like "real money" than the credit
card with its elastic limit.

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zackola
By removing the physical keypad you totally screw everyone with vision
impairments. Check out the keypad and side-screen buttons next time you use an
ATM, they most likely have braille on them. The 90° thing is a good idea
though.

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SlowOnTheUptake
I wonder if the 90° orientation really does make people feel more secure as
the narrator claimed. Did they conduct some kind of research or just declare
it to be so?

Personally, I'd think it would make me more aware that I'm being watched by a
line of impatient people waiting to use the ATM.

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bdonlan
Converting everything to a touchscreen seems like it'd cause problems for
blind users - no way to give braille feedback then...

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basex
in Portugal the ATMs use touchscreens, you can also click to get some machine
voice talking to you about the operations.

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abalashov
I do think "further automation of the teller" is the most important step to
pursue to make ATMs more useful, at least in the US.

It's 2010, why can't I transfer money to one of my other accounts instantly
using an ATM? Why can't I wire or ACH money to anyone else's account anywhere
--why do I have to physically come into the branch, or pay for an expanded
array of online business access services to do this? Security concern? Fine,
use biometrics or something else clever to deal with it. Why can't I deposit
checks and cash 24/7 and have them credited to the account instantly?
Handwriting recognition? Why are we still using _written_ checks?

Admittedly, many of my problems in terms of limitations of online interfaces
stem from using a small regional bank, which outsources different parts of its
offering (business vs. personal online access) to different third-party
vendors with disparate systems that don't communicate, and where most things
(including transfers) can't be done outside normal 9-to-5 business hours. I
could probably solve some of these by banking with some of the bigger players,
there is still room for improvement in ATMs. The amount of overdraft & late
fees I pay because I can't move money to the right account at the right time,
as the owner of a very small business with a very high cash velocity and low
transaction volume, is staggering. It would be nice to be able to do most of
the things I need to physically hoof my way to a branch for on an ATM, and I'm
sure the banks would be delighted in reduced personnel costs too.

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jinushaun
Pretty, but what about blind people?

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eagleal
The blind people could see the sunny weather icon, in the top menu! (I really
don't understand the utility of that icon)

Aside from jokes, it basically is just an aesthetics design over the original
ATM design. Though it's just a pilot test.

* To increase more confidence in people, as they say, they should rise the semi-transparent panel to cover the shoulders of the ones in front.

* Also from a security point of view, doesn't change anything. It's still vulnerable to existing attacks.

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thinkcomp
Why would we need ATMs in the future? My ideal ATM is no ATM.

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doron
I agree, and if i am allowed a moment of NY bitterness. My most valued feature
in an ATM is the - No Fee.

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RiderOfGiraffes
Bloody annoying self-starting video.

From the guidelines:

    
    
        If you submit a link to a video or pdf,
        please warn us by appending [video] or
        [pdf] to the title.

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InclinedPlane
I think it misses the mark. What I want from an ATM is a machine that
dispenses cash and takes deposits 24/7 with minimal fuss. Modern ATMs that
automatically count deposited cash and read deposited checks perform this role
remarkably well. I don't want a full-fledged electronic banking kiosk, if I
need to do anything other than a withdrawal or deposit then I'd vastly prefer
to be able to do that using online banking on the web.

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rapidstuff
On the contrary it is very useful to have a full fledged electronic kiosk,
especially for developing countries. In most places outside the US, online
banking is still in it's early stages and the masses generally prefer and
trust the physical ATM

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tallanvor
Of course. most of Europe is ahead of the US in terms of online banking.

For example:

My bank here in Norway let's me transfer funds internationally online. I can't
do that in the US.

All I need to know to send money to another Norwegian bank account is a single
account code. --No need for routing/sort codes or anything else.

The banks here have even agreed on a single scheme for two factor
identification so that even if you have accounts with multiple banks you don't
have to carry around multiple key fobs, worry about who will be sending you an
SMS with your single use code, or whatnot.

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yxhuvud
Wow, here in Sweden every bank seem to invent their own scheme.

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ajtaylor
While I tend to use electronic transactions, I love the idea of a smarter ATM.
Now I can't wait for my next holiday to Spain so I can try out one of these
machines.

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ehosca
i think the same concept should be applied to computers ...

a single magic slot that accepts CD's, DVD's, floppies, SD Cards, Compact
Flash cards, eSata drives, USB peripherals, mouse, keyboard etc etc...

i want a PC with a giant multi-function universal slot :)

This is what happens when designers who don't know shit about technology start
making shit up and pass it on with hubris.

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sorbus
Yep, entirely made up by designers, except for the bit about it already
existing: "In 2009 the first pilot units have been installed, while BBVA
prepares to roll out the ATM across its Spanish branches."

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ehosca
"In 2009 the first pilot units have been installed" translation: we have a
sample unit running the lab and we installed another one at the
headquarters...

"while BBVA prepares to roll out the ATM across its Spanish branches."
translation: its uncertain if this will ever be deployed... for time reference
its currently 3Q 2010

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gcb
Only living in the USA anyone will not laugh at those "banking innovations
"...

I can't even pay my credit card in the usa on the day it's due. And both
accounts are at the same branch.

