Decades on, the ATM is still king
The first ATMs in the world were launched more than five decades ago. According to former US central bank chief Paul Volcker, they were the "only useful innovation of the banking industry over the past several decades."
Debut of ATM in Enfield, London
The "Automated Teller Machine" was invented half a century ago by Scotsman John Shepherd-Barron. On June 27, 1967, Barclay's deputy chief Sir Thomas Bland (left), A.G. Norman, head of the automatic cash machine manufacturer De La Rue, and the actor Reg Varney (right), unveiled the first of its kind at Barclay's branch in London's Enfield district.
Success in the US
But it was not until its triumph on the American market that the automatic cash machine was used in other western industrialized countries. On September 5, 1968, the director of the Capital National Bank of Miami, Theodore Davis, installed a device in the lobby of his bank.
A machine overcomes boundaries
In the 1970s, the ATMs became increasingly popular in Europe. The people in former West Germany were getting more and more accustomed to the machine. In former East Germany, they were more of a strange sight. But they existed there too - as this version in the GDR Museum in Radebeul proves.
Not always well filled
While it is rare for any of the around 60,000 ATM machines in Germany to face cash shortages, those in crisis-stricken Greece know all too well the limits of the supply of money from the machine. When the debt crisis escalated again in June 2015, customers could only withdraw 60 euros each.
The Rupee shock in India
Bank customers in India are also well familiar with the fact that ATMs are not always in order and well-stocked. Last year, the Indian government, led by PM Narendra Modi, made a surprise move to ban all high-value currency notes in circulation in the country. It triggered serpentine queues outside banks and ATMs of people replacing their rupee notes or making small withdrawals.
Cash works the world over
The cash machine has not only transcended political boundaries, but also become part of daily life in strictly Islamic countries such as Iran. Here, too, people appreciate the invention and technique of the West.
Different functions of the ATM
As time has passed, ATMs have been developed to do more. Now a days they permit not just money withdrawals but also deposits. This unit in the St. Lucie County prison in the US state of Florida can take deposits made by the detainees.
Bank machines draw criminal minds
This ATM has attracted a lot of crime in Berlin-Charlottenburg. Hardly a week goes by when a cash machine isn't blown up - as here in August 2016 in the capital.
The Star Wars influence
In the Croatian capital Zagreb, Star Wars fans get their money's worth. The world-famous R2-D2 robot from the Star Wars saga is a welcome sight not only for cash-hungry customers. Come on, would any criminal seriously want to blow up the cute R2-D2?
Celebrations for the original ATM
Today, there is a gold-plated machine in Enfield at the site of the first ATM next to a commemorative plaque, presented by ex-employees Carol Graygoose (left) and Judyth Simson. And because the inventor's wife said that no one could remember six-digit passwords - as originally planned - all ATMs around the world now have four-digit secret codes.