Funny Holidays - ATM Birthday

The times when people paid with gold and silver coins are long gone Such money was replaced by paper banknotes - a simpler and more convenient option Today, even cash is under threat, because it has begun to be intensively replaced by electronic money, but ATMs still stand on every corner Cash out, transfer, deposit and even pay for a number of services - such equipment can safely be called multifunctional June 27 marks the birthday of the ATM, a device without which a modern person will have a very difficult time What was his story? For the first time, a primitive prototype of a modern ATM was created in the USA This device was developed by an Armenian-born inventor named Luther Simjian Unfortunately, his ATM was of no practical use Yes, the machine gave out money, but it could not write off the required amount from the account, since it had no connection with the bank At that time, the invention turned out to be useless Although Simdzhyan handed over his development to the largest US bank for testing, the device was returned to the inventor a few months later Representatives of the financial institution shrugged their shoulders; they could not use it, since the ATM required serious modifications Simdzhyan’s invention can be called untimely, so it was forgotten for three decades The first ATM was installed in the UK in 1967 Its inventor was Scotsman John Shepherd-Barron The device belonged to Barclays bank The ATM dispensed a certain amount, limited to a limit of 10 pounds Of course, at that time the device also had no connection with the bank, because technology did not allow it, but the inventor found a way out of the situation Today, to get cash, we identify our account using a bank card, and at the first ATM we used special vouchers These checks had to be obtained from the bank in advance They had special protection against counterfeiting - a weakly radioactive mark applied with carbon-14 Shepard-Barron did not know about Simjian's development; he came to his invention on his own, and the source of inspiration for him was a machine selling chocolate bars The Scot simply thought why not use similar technology to cash out money Before this, he began to worry about the idea that a person could not get his money at night when the banks were not working, but need sometimes forced him Gradually, more and more banks began to acquire their own ATMs, but the first to install such devices everywhere was the same Citibank, which in the 30s short-sightedly sent Simjian’s device back to the inventor To protect checks from counterfeiting, PIN codes began to be used The four-digit encoding was invented by James Goodfellow According to a popular story, at first he wanted to take six numbers, but then he reduced the number to four, because this was the combination his wife could remember In 1972, the first machines appeared that accepted cards with magnetic stripes instead of checks This was much more convenient for customers, since the card could be used regularly, and checks had to be received anew each time ATMs, in the eyes of many users, were real machines of Satan In those days, there were even stories that the machine did not work on its own; inside each device sat a dwarf who counted out the money and gave out the required amount Today, such assumptions only cause a smile, but fifty years ago people absolutely seriously believed in these stories Gradually, ATMs improved More reliable materials began to be used to protect money, and in 2002 a real breakthrough occurred - the first device appeared that not only issued, but also accepted funds