Meet Shepherd-Barron, India-Born Man Who Invented The World's First ATM
No matter how much the world goes towards being cashless and transacting digitally, ATMs are still a crucial part of a country¡¯s banking system, right? Whenever we need cash, it's the ATMs where we rush to withdraw money. But have you ever wondered who invested the world¡¯s first ATM? Read on as we unfold the mystery.
Almost sixty years ago, people came up with the idea for ATMs, and they eventually made the first one. Now, it's pretty obvious that these machines are super important for handling our money, isn't it? But we hardly ever mention the guy from India who came up with the idea for ATMs.
The World's First ATM
The inventor of the world's first ATM was John Shepherd-Barron, who was born in Shillong, India, on June 23, 1925. He passed away in the United Kingdom on May 15, 2010.
In 1965, John had a moment that led to the idea for the ATM. He went to the bank on a Saturday to get some cash, but he was a minute late and found the doors locked. That night, while he was having a bath and realized he had no cash, he had a thought: "If vending machines can give out chocolate bars, why can't banks have a machine that gives out money?" Later that year, he shared his idea for a cash machine with the chief general manager of Barclays Bank. Almost two years later, in June 1967, the world's first ATM was installed.
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.
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Who was Shepherd-Barron?
Born to Scottish parents in Meghalaya, Shepherd-Barron came up with the idea for a self-service cash machine in 1965. His "aha" moment was inspired by a vending machine that dispensed chocolate bars.
Shepherd-Barron spent most of his life in Portmahomack in Ross-shire. His machine didn't use plastic cards like modern ATMs do, but instead used cheques that had a bit of carbon 14, a mildly radioactive substance, in them.
The machine detected this substance to match the cheque with a personal identification number (PIN). The first ATM was installed at a bank in London in 1967. Interestingly, Reg Varney, a popular TV star, was the first person to withdraw cash from this machine.
Shepherd-Barron passed away at a hospital in Scotland in 2010.
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