Automatic teller machine
, or built into the side of
banks or other buildings.]]
An
automatic teller machine (ATM) is an electronic device which allows a
bank's customers to make cash withdrawals and check their account balances at any time without the need for a human teller. Many ATMs also allow people to deposit cash or cheques, transfer money between their bank accounts or even buy
postage stamps.
Names
ATMs are known by a wide variety of names, some of which are more common in certain countries than others. Examples include:
and other busy areas.]]
- Automated Teller Machine\n* Automated Banking Machine (ABM is commonly used by Canadian banks)\n* ATM Machine (sic)\n* Bancomat or Bankomat, particularly in continental Europe – Bancomat is a trademark of UBS AG\n* Bank Box\n* Bank machine, in Canada\n* Cajero Automático, in Spain\n* Cash Box \n* Cash Dispenser\n* Cash Machine\n* Cashpoint, particularly in the United Kingdom\n* Geldautomat, in Germany (Geld = money)\n* "Hole-in-the-wall"\n* MAC machine, or MAC (Money Access Center), particularly on the East coast of the United States (esp. New Jersey and Pennsylvania)\n* Minibank, in Norway\n* Pin Automaat, in The Netherlands (verb. flappen tappen, pinnen)\n* Postomat, in Switzerland (Swiss Post Bank ATM)\n* Robotic Teller\n* "Ugly Teller"
History
\nThe world's first ATM was installed in Enfield Town in the London Borough of Enfield, London on June 27, 1967 by Barclays Bank. This instance of the invention is credited to John Shepherd-Barron, although George Simjian registered patents in New York, USA in the 1930s and Don Wetzel and two other engineers from Docutel registered a patent on June 4, 1973.
In modern ATMs, customers authenticate themselves by using a plastic card with a magnetic stripe, which encodes the customer's account number, and by entering a numeric passcode called a PIN (personal identification number), which in some cases may be changed using the machine. Typically, if the number is entered incorrectly several times in a row, most ATMs will retain the card as a security precaution to prevent an unauthorised user from working out the PIN by pure guesswork. Earliest versions accepted a single-use token or voucher, and the latest ATMs read and store customer data on a smartcard.
Networking
\nMost ATMs are connected to interbank networks, enabling people to withdraw money from machines not belonging to the bank where they have their account. (Deposits can only be made at machines belonging to the bank that has the account.) This is a convenience, especially for people who are travelling: it is possible to make withdrawals in places where one's bank has no branches, and even to withdraw local currency in a foreign country, often at a better exchange rate than would be available by changing cash.
ATMs rely on authorization of a transaction by the card issuer or other authorizing institution via the communications network.
ATM charges
\nMany banks in the USA charge fees for the use of their ATMs by non-depositors, for withdrawals over the network by their own customers, or both; however, in the UK strong public reaction soon persuaded banks not to do this. There is also now a flourishing business of placing ATMs in grocery stores, malls, and other locations other than banks: some of these machines have signs advertising "low" fees.
Hardware and software
ATMs contain secure cryptoprocessors, generally within an IBM PC compatible host computer in a secure enclosure. The security of the machine relies mostly on the integrity of the secure cryptoprocessor: the host software often runs on a commodity operating system.
In-store ATMs typically connect directly to their ATM Transaction Processor via a modem over a dedicated telephone line, although the move towards Internet connections is under way. In addition, ATMs are moving away from custom circuit boards (most of which are based on Intel 8086 architecture) and into full-fledged PCss with commodity operating systems such as Windows 2000 and Linux. An example of this is Banrisul, the largest bank in the South of Brazil, which has replaced the MS-DOS operating systems in its automatic teller machines with Linux. Other platforms include RMX 86, OS/2 and Windows 98 bundled with Java. The newest ATMs use Windows XP or Windows XP embedded.
Reliability
ATMs are generally reliable, but if they do go wrong customers will be left without cash until the following morning or whenever they can get to the bank during opening hours. Of course, not all errors are to the detriment of customers; there have been cases of machines giving out money without debiting the account, or giving out higher value notes as a result of incorrect denomination of banknote being loaded in the money cassettes. Errors that can occur may be mechanical (such as card transport mechanisms; keypads; hard disk failures); software (such as operating system; device driver; application); communications; or purely down to operator error.
Security
Early ATM security focused on making the ATMs invulnerable to physical attack; they were effectively safes with dispenser mechanisms. A number of attacks on ATMs resulted, with thieves attempting to steal entire ATMs by ram-raiding.
Modern ATM physical security concentrates on denying the use of the money inside the machine to a thief, by means of techniques such as dye markers and smoke canisters. This change in emphasis has meant that ATMs are now frequently found free-standing in places like shops, rather than mounted into walls.
Another trend in ATM security leverages the existing security of a retail establishment. In this scenario, the fortified cash dispenser is replaced with nothing more than a paper-tape printer. The customer requests a withdrawal from the machine, which dispenses no money, but merely prints a receipt. The customer then takes this receipt to a nearby sales clerk, who then exchanges it for cash from the till.
ATM transactions are usually encrypteded with DES but most transaction processors will require the use of the more secure Triple DES by 2005.
There are also many "phantom withdrawals" from ATMs, which banks often claim are the result of fraud by customers. Many experts ascribe phantom withdrawals to the criminal activity of dishonest insiders. Ross Anderson, a leading cryptography researcher, has been involved in investigating many cases of phantom withdrawals, and has been responsible for exposing several errors in bank security.
There have also been a number of incidents of fraud where criminals have used fake machines or have attached fake keypads or card readers to existing machines. These have then been used to record customers' PINs and bank account details in order to gain unauthorised access to their accounts.
A bank is always liable when a customer's money is stolen from an ATM, but there have been complaints that banks have made it difficult to recover money lost in this way.
See also
\n* Financial cryptography\n*Personal Identification Number
External links
\nGeneral
\n*How ATMs work – From website Howstuffworks.com\n*The Money Machines – An account of U.S. ATM history; By Ellen Florian, Fortune.com \n*ATM timeline – Includes picture of original ATM opening\n*Enfield's claims to fame\n*Banrisul Linux-ATM project\nSome ATM manufacturers
\n*Diebold\n*IBM\n*NCR\n*Tidel\n*Triton\n*Wincor Nixdorf
Category:Banks\nCategory:Embedded systems
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