ATMs
An automated teller machine (ATM) is an electronic banking facility that enables users to do simple transactions without the assistance of a teller or branch personnel. The majority of ATMs allow users to get cash using a credit or debit card.
- ATMs are practical because they let users quickly do self-service tasks such making deposits, withdrawing cash, paying bills, and transferring funds between accounts. Cash withdrawal fees are often assessed by the ATM operator, the bank where the account is kept, or by both. By utilizing an ATM run by the bank that owns the account directly, you may avoid some or all of these costs.
- Across the globe, ATMs are referred to as cash machines or automated bank machines (ABMs).
- Customers of financial institutions can conduct financial transactions, such as cash withdrawals, deposits, funds transfers, and account information inquiries, at any time and without having to speak with bank employees directly thanks to automated teller machines (ATMs), which are electronic telecommunications devices.
- Numerous terms are used to refer to ATMs, such as the automated teller machine (ATM) in the United States (which is frequently referred to as simply “ATM machine”). While ATMs are more widely utilized than ABM in Canada, many Canadian companies still refer to their machines as automated banking machines (ABMs). The phrases “cashpoint,” “cash machine,” and “hole in the wall” are most often used in British English. Anytime money, cashline, nibank, time machine, cash dispenser, cash corner, bankomat, and bancomat are some further words. The name of the bank or company that owns the ATM is often shown on a sign above the machine. It may also list the networks that the ATM is compatible with. “White-label” ATMs are those that are not administered by banking institutions.
- Customers may use an ATM to access their credit or bank deposit accounts and perform a range of financial operations, including checking their balance, making cash withdrawals, and transferring credit to and from mobile phones. In a foreign nation, cash withdrawals are another purpose for ATMs. Should the currency being taken out of the ATM vary from the one used to open the bank account, the funds will be exchanged using the exchange rate set by the financial institution. Consumers typically identify themselves by inserting a plastic ATM card—or any other valid payment card—into the machine. To authenticate themselves, they must enter a personal identification number (PIN), which must coincide with the PIN recorded in the database of the financial institution that issued the card or in the chip on the card, if it has one.
- The ATM Industry Association (ATMIA) estimates that there were almost 3.5 million ATMs in use globally as of 2015. However, as cashless payment methods proliferate, ATM use is progressively decreasing.
- ATM types
- ATMs come in two main categories. Customers only have access to updated account balances and cash withdrawals in basic amounts. The most sophisticated devices take deposits, enable payments and transfers across lines of credit, and retrieve account data.
- A user has to have an account with the bank that runs the machine in order to utilize the advanced capabilities of the complicated units.
- Experts predict that the number of ATM withdrawals will rise and that ATM use will only grow. Future ATMs are probably going to be full-service machines, either in addition to or in instead of conventional bank tellers.
- Despite variations in design, all ATMs have the same fundamental components:
- Card reader: This component reads the magnetic stripe on the back or the chip on the front of the card.
- Keypad: The consumer uses the keypad to enter data, such as the needed kind of transaction, the amount of the transaction, and their personal identification number (PIN).
- Cash dispenser: The machine dispenses money via a slot that is attached to a safe at the base of the device.
- Printer: Customers may request receipts to be printed here, if necessary. The kind of transaction, the amount, and the account balance are all noted on the receipt.
- Screen: The ATM provides prompts that lead the user through the transaction execution procedure. Account details and balances are among the other data that is shown on the screen.
- In summary
- Automated teller machines are digital banking locations that enable users finish transactions without visiting a bank office.
- While some are just cash dispensers, others include a range of functions including bill payment, balance transfers, and check deposits.
- Use an ATM branded by your own bank as often as you can to save ATM costs.