Article 8: ATM's (Automatic Transaction Machines)
Eighteen years ago, if I was going to do anything on the weekend that required cash, I would have to go to the Bank on Friday afternoon and withdraw what I would need. This meant planning the weekend activities and estimating the amount of money I would need. If I ran short I would then have to go to a supermarket and purchase something and write a check greater than the purchase price so I could get cash back. Do you remember those days?
I can remember the first ATM machine that came to our town. It was wonderful! I could go anytime and get cash, but the early machines had a limit much smaller than today as to how much you could withdraw. If my memory serves me right it was $20 per day. Compute that over Friday, Saturday and Sunday I could have the huge fortune of $60 in my pocket. Not bad for the struggling Youth Pastor I was in those days.
In 1986 I took the youth group from the church to the World's Fair in Vancouver, British Columbia. At the fair there were ATM machines that would accept my card and give me Canadian currency. They would also give a receipt that showed the U.S. equivalent in currency, fascinating.
Have you noticed what I call ATM machine etiquette? Because of lines at banks that keep us a certain distance from customers we all keep the same practice at ATM's. Next time you use one noticed how far you stand from the person who is using the machine. If you are brave, try standing right behind the person.
ATM's are a part of most of our lives. We look for them when we need cash. We complain about the user fees. When a weekend comes we don't have to plan to have extra cash; there is always the ATM.
What effect will Y2K have on these machines? Not much. Banks have been spending millions on upgrades to handle the millennial date change. The computers that run these machines are new enough not to be affected by Jan. 1, 2000. The software has been rewritten to handle the date change.
Will some of these machines not work right on Jan. 1, 2000? Probably. Some of these machines will not work right on other dates as well. In fact between now and Jan. 1, 2000 there will be some ATM's that will not work right everyday. Imagine that, machines that don't function right everyday!
In the Puget Sound area of Washington State ten years ago I went to an ATM and withdrew cash. My receipt listed the amount withdrawn but it did not give me the amount left in my account. I requested that amount and again it did not give it to me. I mentioned to my wife that the machine was not functioning correctly.
A couple of young men in the area also noticed the same problem. They went a step further and figured that if the machines were not reporting the total in their account then they could withdraw as much as they wanted to withdraw. Over the weekend they withdrew several thousand dollars against an account that had several hundred dollars. On Monday morning they marched into the bank's office and returned the cash! The bank, with red face, admitted to the press that there was a glitch in the system, and it had nothing to do with Y2K. A clerk had programmed the units the wrong way on Friday morning.
What can we learn from this? On Jan 1, 2000 there will be some machines that will not function. Can you still make purchases? Yes, go to the store and use a check. Will the stores accept a check? Probably, if not then they won't see your business again! If you are nervous, put an extra bill in your wallet on Dec. 30th, don't wait until the 31st, the line might be longer than usual.
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