It is your money and you want immediate and easy access to it. Can you imagine a time, way back in the 1970s, when people had to wait in line during a bank's limited hours to get money from their own accounts? The advent of the automated teller machine (ATM) changed the way consumers handle their money. The ATM also shows how technology can change traditional business and consumer practices.

As technology allows in the future, ATM machines will likely be used for purposes beyond dispensing cash.

The evolution of the ATM reflects the technology of the time. As personal computers (PCs) and networks became more sophisticated, the ATM followed. The first ATMs were proprietary (i.e., the private property of a single individual or institution) and stand-alone (i.e., independent devices that did not connect to a network). These original ATMs were not...