Spectral lines: The bankers vs. technology

More than a year ago, one of the largest commercial banks in the U.S. installed what it labeled a “Convenience Center” in New York City's Grand Central Terminal. On weekdays, the center opened early and closed late, one objective being to permit dashing commuters to engage in simple banking transactions (deposits and withdrawals) before and after regular business hours. To accomplish this, the center was equipped with one automatic deposit machine (“Instaposit”) and three identical automatic cash-delivery machines. The deposit machine was designed to accept cash or checks in a sealed envelope and return a dated receipt to the customer, while simultaneously depositing the envelope in a locked box. The cash machines were designed to respond to the customer's keyboard request for an envelopeful of cash. The customer simply inserted a magstripe plastic card and entered his personal code number, which was communicated to a central data bank containing the customer's account status. If cleared to make a withdrawal, the customer then punched in a request for $25, $50, $75, or $100, and the machine disbursed the appropriate number of envelopes, each containing two tens and a five.