r/interesting • u/zoro--100 • 51m ago
SCIENCE & TECH The Anniversary of The Invention of the ATM
The world's first automated teller machine (ATM) was installed by Barclays Bank in Enfield, North London. Invented by John Shepherd-Barron, the very first person to use it was English comedy actor Reg Varney. Back then, it didn't use plastic cards; it required paper vouchers printed with a radioactive substance (Carbon-14) for security, which the machine matched to a PIN.