Smart ATM
Abstract:
No, I'm not talking about Adobe Type Manager,
nerds.
Body:
I was in Doylestown today and stopped at Commerce
Bank to get some cash from the ATM. It's not a swipe reader; you have to fully
insert your card. I've lost two cards to these types of machines. First, I left
one in a Nashville ATM when I was in a rush to keep up with Ted's whims in a
mall. I then lost the replacement card when a machine in Baltimore kept it
because the PIN had been set incorrectly (probably by
me).
I'm sure many cards are lost every
day the same way that I lost mine in Nashville, costing banks and customers both
time and money. One way to solve this problem is by using the swipe-style mag
stripe readers, but it can also be solved on machines with card-eating
capability. At the ATM in Doylestown, after I completed my transaction, I looked
at the money dispenser and waited for my cash to appear. Nothing happened, so I
looked at the screen and saw "PLEASE TAKE YOUR CARD." As soon as I removed the
ejected card, the cash and receipt followed. It's close to foolproof. Forgetting
a card is easy, but nobody's going to walk away without cash. Just moving what
could be only one line of code is going to save a lot of people from
frustration. A very simple idea, but most great ideas are.
Posted: Saturday - March 04, 2006 at 11:14 PM