June 27th: The Day of 'The Hole in the Wall'

Modern society take for granted the ability to take cash out an ATM at their convenience, but on June 27th 1967 it was quite a novelty. Chief inventor John Shepherd Barron was credited with the creation and installment of the world's first ATM. The machine first appeared in Enfield, North London, in the area's Barclays branch, and soon enough other countries started to envy the invention, and the hole in the wall went viral.

Outside the world's 1st ATM, June 27 1967

   John Shepherd Barron belonged to the printing firm De La Rue when he worked on the ATM project, so his invention was originally called DACS, not ATM (De La Rue Automatic Cash System). General-purpose credit cards came on the scene only the year before Barron's ATM, so this shows how fast things were moving in the banking world. Barron produced the idea of a 6 digit PIN to access your money from an ATM securely, but it was his wife, Caroline, who suggested it should be shortened to 4 digits for easier memory. Thanks for making our lives easier, Caroline!
   'On the Buses' was the popular TV sitcoms of the time (although most people under 30 won't have heard of it today), and star of the show Reg Varney was officially the first person to use the new cash machine on June 27th. I bet he didn't have to worry about who was looking over his shoulder, or check for any hidden cameras! A few days later, Barron was invited to a conference with America, who were completely taken with the invention and ordered for 6 ATMs to be installed at the First Pennsylvania Bank in Philadelphia. 

Lloyds TSB Cashpoint

   Such a useful device has now gone global, and how interesting that it all began in Enfield! The bank Lloyds TSB have actually copyrighted the term 'cashpoint', which in itself proves how significant ATMs are nowadays. They seem to be improving as time goes by too, with 24 hour services and now they even dispense £5 notes, which definitely removes the temptation of blowing a whole £20 in one go...well, the idea's there anyway! So thanks be to John Shepherd Barron for enabling money to make the world go round, even in our fast-paced modern lifestyles.