What a novelty ATM was back in the day when GPay and PayTM were still far off.

But let's go back a little further, when the first ATM, or Automatic Teller Machine, made its debut. Where else but in New York, USA on September 2, 1969. It was the customers at Chemical Bank who had the privilege of using this machine that went on to change the game of banking worldwide. For example, it seems absurd to think about visiting the bank just to withdraw money in today's day and age, doesn't it? Those are the trips that the ATM helped eliminate. They eventually made check deposits, cash transfers, balance checking and so much more.

Wouldn't you want to know the name of the human who made this possible? Largely, it was Don Wetzel, who had developed automated baggage-handling equipment then thought about the idea of ATMs. And of course, it was while waiting in the line at a bank that he thought of this revolutionary idea.

According to RBI data, there were 2,34,244 ATMs in India by September 2020. Since 2017, the numbers have been lukewarm, to say the least, and the ATM industry in India is hurting, especially in the ongoing COVID era.