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1967
The world's first cash machine opened in a London suburb in 1967.
5 min readLast updated
The short answer
Yes. The first widely recognised cash machine was unveiled on 27 June 1967 at a Barclays branch in Enfield, north London. It was developed with the engineering firm De La Rue.
Why it's true
In the 1960s, getting cash meant visiting a bank during opening hours. Several inventors in Britain, Sweden and elsewhere were working on machines to solve that problem. The one that opened first, in Enfield, is usually credited to John Shepherd-Barron, who led the team at De La Rue that built it for Barclays.
It worked differently from modern machines. Customers bought paper vouchers from the bank in advance. Each voucher was marked with a mildly radioactive compound, carbon 14, that the machine could detect. The customer inserted the voucher, typed a personal number, and received a fixed amount of cash, reported as ten pounds.
Comedy actor Reg Varney made the first withdrawal, a publicity moment that helped make the launch famous.
By the numbers
27 June 1967
Enfield machine unveiled
4
Digits in the standard PIN
£10
Reported maximum per withdrawal
The backstory
Shepherd-Barron said he got the idea while in the bath, after arriving at his bank just after it closed. He imagined a machine like a chocolate bar dispenser, but for cash. Barclays agreed to try it, and the Enfield machine was soon followed by others.
He also gave an often repeated account of the personal number. He planned a six digit code, but his wife said she could only remember four, so four became the standard. A Swedish machine opened only days later, and a British engineer named James Goodfellow patented a PIN and card system around the same time, which is why cash machine history has more than one pioneer.
Worth remembering
- The first famous cash machine opened at Barclays in Enfield on 27 June 1967.
- It used carbon 14 marked paper vouchers instead of cards.
- Several inventors worked on cash machines at the same time.
In context
Self service changed banking the way supermarkets changed shopping. Once customers could get cash at any hour, banks could rethink branch hours and staff. Cash machines spread across the world through the 1970s and 1980s, connected into networks that let people withdraw money far from home, a step toward the card payments that now dominate everyday spending.
The idea spread quickly once banks saw that customers loved it. Machines appeared outside branches, then in shops, stations and airports, and shared networks let cards from one bank work in another bank's machine. Cash on demand, at any hour, soon became something people simply expected.
In 2017, Barclays marked the fiftieth anniversary of the Enfield machine by turning it gold for a day. The branch's blue plaque still tells passers by that cash on demand began right there, in a busy suburban high street.
A closer look
A radioactive voucher
The carbon 14 marking sounds alarming, but the amount was tiny. It simply gave the machine a way to recognise a genuine voucher. After the money was dispensed, the voucher was kept and returned to the bank so the withdrawal could be matched to the right account.
It was a clever workaround at a time when computers were expensive and banks could not yet check accounts instantly from a machine on a high street.
Many inventors, one idea
Technology history often has rival firsts. James Goodfellow, working in Scotland, patented a system using a coded card and a PIN, the combination modern machines still use. In Sweden, a cash dispenser opened in Uppsala only days after Enfield.
Calling Enfield the first reflects its date and fame. The modern cash machine owes something to all of these efforts.
From vouchers to cards
Paper vouchers soon gave way to reusable cards. Plastic cards with magnetic stripes could carry account details and work again and again.
Networks then linked machines to bank computers, so balances could be checked in real time. Chips and contactless cards came later still.
Related facts
The same isotope is famous for dating ancient objects carbon 14's half life.
Cash itself kept changing too Australia's switch to plastic banknotes.
Another unusual British money idea British Premium Bonds pay prizes.
For what comes out of the machine US banknotes are made of cotton and linen.
Key terms
- ATM
- Automated teller machine, a device that lets customers withdraw cash without a cashier.
- PIN
- Personal identification number, a secret code used to confirm a cardholder.
- Carbon 14
- A naturally occurring radioactive form of carbon, used here to mark vouchers.
Myth vs reality
Myth
The first cash machine used plastic cards with magnetic stripes.
Reality
It used paper vouchers marked with carbon 14. Magnetic stripe cards came later.
People also ask
Where was the first ATM?
At a Barclays branch in Enfield, north London. It was unveiled on 27 June 1967, and a commemorative plaque now marks the site.
Who invented the ATM?
John Shepherd-Barron of De La Rue is usually credited with the Enfield machine. Other inventors, including James Goodfellow and a Swedish team, developed related machines and ideas at the same time.
How did the first cash machine work?
Customers used paper vouchers marked with carbon 14, which the machine detected, along with a personal number. It then dispensed a set amount of cash.
Why are PINs four digits?
Shepherd-Barron said he planned six digits, but his wife could remember only four comfortably. Four digit PINs became common, though some systems allow longer ones.
Who made the first withdrawal?
Reg Varney, a British comedy actor, made the first withdrawal at the launch. It was arranged as a publicity event.
