Don Wetzel(3)

no picture:
Tom Barnes, chief
mechanical engineer;
George Chastain, electrical engineer.
Jack Gebhart, engineer

papers & manuals

hardware

software

An automatic teller machine or ATM allows a bank customer to conduct their banking transactions from almost every other ATM machine in the world. Don Wetzel was the co-patentee and chief conceptualist of the automated teller machine, an idea he thought of while waiting in line at a Dallas bank. At the time (1968) Wetzel was the Vice President of Product Planning at Docutel, the company that developed automated baggage-handling equipment. The other two inventors listed on the patent were Tom Barnes, the chief mechanical engineer and George Chastain, the electrical engineer. It took five million dollars to develop the ATM. The concept of the ATM first began in 1968, a working prototype came about in 1969 and Docutel was issued a patent in 1973. The first working ATM was installed in a New York based Chemical Bank. (note(1): There are different claims to which bank had the first ATM, here is Don Wetzel's reference:

The first voucher based cash dispensing machine was installed in 1967 by Barclay's Bank in London.  Experts, however, do not consider this an ATM.  The first modern day ATM was introduced to consumers in 1969 by Chemical Bank.(2)

"No, it wasn't in a lobby, it was actually in the wall of the bank, out on the street. They put a canopy over it to protect it from the rain and the weather of all sorts. Unfortunately they put the canopy too high and the rain came under it. (laughing) One time we had water in the machine and we had to do some extensive repairs. It was a walkup on the outside of the bank. That was the first one. And it was a cash dispenser only, not a full ATM... We had a cash dispenser, and then the next version was going to be the total teller (created in 1971), which is the ATM we all know today -- takes deposits, transfers money from checking to savings, savings to checking, cash advances to your credit card, takes payments; things like that. So they didn't want just a cash dispenser alone." - Don Wetzel on the first ATM installed at the Rockville Center, New York Chemical Bank from a NMAH interview.

Early model of an ATM on display at the Smithsonion Institute(3)

Jack Gebhart had the idea to put the magnetic stripe on the bankcard to carry the customer information. This information could then be read by a reader, also from Jack Gerbhart, which in its turn is connected to a computer. (4)

chronology

1967
Cash dispensing machine at Barclay's Bank in London

1968
The concept of the ATM

1969
a working ATM model installed at Chemical Bank, New York, USA

1973
Docutel rewarded a patent for the ATM