It was this day in the year 1969 and the city was New York, at Chemical Bank in Rockville Center. The first ATM machine made its public debut. Boy was that a life changing day or what? The new machines that allowed you to walk up, push a few buttons and grab some cash was way back in 1969? They didn’t really start to kick in until the 1980s.
Now ATMs are a part of life without a thought. Cell phone? Check. Debit Card? Check. Ok, we are set to go! I would need a few other things but these two items are accessories just about every person you see must have.
Then the idea of putting these machines everywhere and not just at banks was another life changing event. I know the down side to that equation as well. It has to do with a casino and a row of ATM machines calling my name, telling me I deserve more fun.
Don Wetzel from Dallas is pretty much given credit for the ATM we see today. Other prototypes had been made and tried but they just didn’t fit. It is said Mr. Wetzel came up with the idea while waiting in line for a teller at the bank. Mr. Wetzel also created the first automated baggage handling equipment.
The ATMs could only dispense cash in 1969. Today they can do a number of things to make our banking a self serving task. You can deposit money, transfer money and check your balance. There are over 100 million ATMs around the world. There is even one at McMurdo Station in Antarctica. The places you find the ATMs that are not actually at a bank are leased from banks and can be placed pretty much anywhere.
I wonder how many tellers lost their jobs over this new invention? It wasn’t until the 1990s that the banks caught onto the idea of fees. That put a lot of extra money in their pockets while taking it out of ours. A new take on an old crime also showed up with criminals watching ATMs for someone taking out cash and then using any number of ways to rob them. Then the door to theft identity also opened, widely. 
Some criminals have even gone to the expense of creating fake machines in order to get PIN numbers. I have seen video of people driving their cars through convenient store windows and either trying to run over the ATM or wrap a chain around it and attempt to drag it out of the store. Most of these videos made it on one of the shows like “World’s Dumbest Criminals”. The change that made it mandatory for all ATMs to have surveillance cameras has helped some.
Even with those negatives the ATM and its offspring that allows us to use our debit card just about anywhere is pretty awesome in my opinion. I may right one check a month now to pay bills and buy items. I pay most bills online and I am quick at zipping the debit card and moving on. Maybe some day it will be more like something George Jetson would encounter. We will not need to push buttons, just simply get our eyes scanned and then tell the machine what we want. Happy Birthday ATMs!
Ironically, also on this day in 1789, The U. S. founded the Treasury Department. The Treasury’s roots actually go back to 1775 when American leaders were trying to find a way to pay for our Revolution War. Their solution: Issuing cash that doubled as redeemable “bills of credit”, raised enough capital to fuel the revolution. Can you guess what else this created? It was our country’s first debt! Cue the bands, wake the kids and pass the bubbly. We have become well skilled with this part of our beginnings.
The Treasury Department was an attempt to gain some control of the debt. When the Declaration of Independence was signed, it gave us the ability to borrow money from other countries. This ability didn’t prove to have the affect they were seeking. Alexander Hamilton was appointed by then president, George Washington, to head the first office.
Alexander was an interesting fellow. Many things happened while he held the position, including the Federalist Papers episode. However, he died from wounds he received during a duel. He was only 49 years old. The duel was not over a woman. Aaron Burr, who was running for President against John Adams, felt humiliated by Hamilton’s words and actions surrounding his support for the re-election of Adams.
I wonder what this country would be like if we could still challenge with duels? There wouldn’t be many of us left. It seems everybody is offended by something many times through out the day. Hamilton might have lived to a much older age if there had been more political correctness back then. :) 
I hope your September 2 was a good one. I hope you have a great weekend. Take care and stay safe,
KJ
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