Did You Know? This India-born Man Invented The World's First ATM

Nearly sixty years ago, the concept of ATMs was invented, and the world’s first ATM was finally launched. Since then, its a no-brainer that this device has become such a crucial part of our financial lives, right? But seldom do we talk about the India-born man who invented the concept of ATMs.?

Who Invented ATMs?

John Shepherd-Barron atm/pinterest

It was India-born British inventor John Shepherd-Barron who lead the invention of the world’s first ATM. John Shepherd-Barron was born on June 23, 1925, in Shillong and died on May 15, 2010, in the United Kingdom.

When Was The World’s First ATM Installed?

The world's first ever ATM was installed on June 27, 1967. It was unveiled at a branch of Barclays Bank in Enfield, north London.?

worlds first atm/getty

world's first atm/ barclays

Also Read:?Inside The World's Loneliest?ATM?In Antarctica

How Did John Shepherd-Barron Come Up With The Idea Of ATM?

One Saturday in 1965, John went into town to withdraw some cash from his bank, but when he got there a minute late, he discovered that the doors were locked and this gave him the idea for the ATM.

That night, as he was taking a bath and had run out of cash, he thought to himself, "If chocolate bars can be dispensed by vending machines, then why can't banks have a machine that dispenses money?" He presented his cash machine idea to the chief general manager of Barclays Bank in a meeting later that year. In June 1967, almost two years later, the world's first ATM was installed.?

John Shepherd-Barron atm inventor/bbc

Who Was The World’s First Person To Make Cash Withdrawal?

The honor of pulling back a velvet curtain set up for the occasion went to Sir Thomas Bland, who was the deputy chairman of Barclays at the time. The first person to take out money from the ATM was English actor Reg Varney, who was featured in the British comedy series "On The Buses."

world's first atm/indiatimes

Inquisitive customers were given paper checks, in the days before plastic cards, after a celebrity-endorsed trial run. These checks contained traces of radioactive carbon-14, also known as radiocarbon, which the machine detected and used to match a check to a four-digit pin number. According to ATM inventor John Shepherd-Barron, customers fed their checks into the new machine in exchange for a shiny, new ?10 note—"quite enough for a wild weekend" back then.

Also Read:?Inside America's Smallest Bank That Has No?ATM, No Fees & No Website

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