Human-Centered Automated Teller Machines
I use an ATM almost every week, and no matter what bank I use, it has always been an irritating experience. Here we have a device used consistently by billions of people, that is making money to its proprietors, yet have failed to keep up with the advancing technology.
Despite being invented in the late 1960s, the only true improvements this beast have seen were 1) the adoption of ATM cards instead of paper cheques, and much later 2) the touchscreen.
Few years ago I read about IDEO’s work in this area and since then it has been impossible for me to get it out of my head. Here are few ideas on how I would improve an ATM, from walking to the machine to receiving my money.
- Malfunctioning/disconnected light indicator: many times I find an ATM, park my car, and walk to the machine only to find a dreadful “out of service” message. A light indicator would save people time.
- RFID/Touch-free ATM cards: why do I have to pull out my ATM card, gently slip it in, and hold my wallet until the end of the transaction? At the end of a transaction, both card and cash are given back to the user simultaneously. When this happens, I always find myself racing against time to put back my card inside my wallet and then take the cash before the machine eats either of them.
- Early network authorization: just after showing my card, and while I am entering my pin, the machine should connect to the bank and get meta data on my account, such as balance and permissible amount to withdraw. That way I do not have to wait 8-30 seconds doing nothing after I choose my transaction.
- No more choose-your-language screen: I told you my preferred language a billion times. At the very least, make an assumption while having a “change language” button in a corner.
- Offer my most popular transactions: I almost always withdraw SAR 400. I do not want to go through the many screens and enter that amount every time.
- Option for receipt only after the transaction: after I choose to withdraw money, the machine should not slow the transaction with yet another question “do you want a receipt for that?”. Instead, the option for a receipt should be available for 5 to 10 seconds after I receive my money. I have a feeling that the reason why we have so many receipts lying on the ground is that people are always in a hurry, pushing “next next yes” and therefore unconsciously answering that question. This also explain why some people ask for a receipt but never pull it out of the machine.
This is what I have so far. In retrospect I notice that all of my suggestions are time-saving improvements, which is probably a reflection of how I perceive an ATM machine should serve me: not by giving me health tips or impress me with new animations, but by giving me money when I need it and then getting out of my way as soon as possible.
A perfect experience would require exactly five pushes on the keypad: four for the pin, one for the common transaction, all in less than ten seconds.
Share your ideas in the comments!
Salam, Ahmed
Spot on! I share the same horrible experiences, and very much agree with your suggestions.
1. The issue you’re trying to solve here is a very annoying and a “disrespectful” one at times. But I would go further to ask: why the hell do I see more out-of-service ATMs in this country than I see elsewhere? Bear in mind this is an economy where banks’ profits are among the highest in this sector globally.
2. Great concept. Don’t forget, though, that RFID cards faced huge challenges due to their vulnerability to be hacked (e.g. Remember the famous blue Amex case where theifs walk thru crowds and use devices that scan nearby cards to steal card info).
5. Totally agree. Add this: give out less 500s, which one can rarely find a store that accepts the bill (you’d have to trick the guy at the gas pump to fill the tank and be paid after, only to find you telling him: I don’t have change!).
Best,
Ahmad
These are great observations. Dieter Ram mentions how good design is “thoughtful” and it’s clear you’ve invested some thought in making something better. As the founder of Four Barrel would say, “I think, if we can do something better – we should.”
In addition to your points, a few quick thoughts:
1. Get rid of decimals. Why do I need to add two “0s” to my amount? I can’t order anything anything less than a riyal. Actually, further more I should only be able to enter digits after the “ones” location.
2. Can we make people happier? Rather than show me an advertisement on an irrelevant product or a warning about the dangers of drug use. Why not use this time to make people smile or share a positive story? There’s some waiting time, how can we brighten people’s day. This would also translate to positive feelings associated with the bank brand.
3. Machine design is too cold. The machine’s physical construction is often old and oddly shaped. How could banks translate the physical shape of the machine into a form that’s more human and engaging while also communicating safety and trust.
Love this topic.
Warm regards,
AbdulAziz
Pedestrian friendly
Side screen to allow pedestrians (especially in gas stations) to use the machine while cars are using the main screen.
Alternative Security
Along with pin-codes introduce finger-print recognition this not only provides added security (unless someone gets hold of your finger that is).
Side Passenger-ability
No longer will the side passenger have to disclose his pin-number to the driver or come down and walk over to the ATM; a number-pad (or fingerprint recognition) tied to a flexible cord that can extend through the driver’s window to the other side will leave everyone at the comfort of their air conditioned seats.
Also… free money would be great…
Dear Ahmed,
I can’t figure out when this was post of written but I got landed on this post searching for alternate solutions to the problems you mentioned.
With the technology we have these days, I am more than sure that all this and more is possible. I have been working on “Internet of Things” for some time now and my recent dribbling have led me to using this machine-machine communication possibility to come up with a very good location and context aware solution to the ATM accessibility and usability issue. Will be proposing a project to KACST for funding and hopefully will be realized soon. It will solve many issues mentioned above by some of you commenters.
Thanks for the youtube link on this post. Old but informative.
it will appear here very soon
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