[IxDA Discuss] ATM interaction design

[Mark Schraad]

We worked on early stages of a customizable ATM project a while back.  
While the user would seem to be an important consideration, the prime  
concern amongst banks, by far, is security. Second is throughput. Any  
customization (or for that matter additional functionality or  
monetization) caused concerns for fraud, the safety of the user and  
slowed throughput. People use tellers inside the bank because they  
feel safer. People use (particularly drive through) ATM's for speed  
and convenience. My guess is that those are the reasons ATM systems  
are now customizable, not for a better user experience.

I am not trying to argue against UCD or customizable features, but  
banks are notoriously not user friendly. I used to carry a couple of  
old bank statements in my notebook back in the early nineties because  
they made great examples of how not to design something for the use  
or user. Few customers innately think about their transactions in the  
format a bank presents them. Basically all the typical bank does is  
dump their records on a piece of paper and put it in the mail.

It would seem that this could be a huge point of differentiation for  
the discerning bank.

On May 10, 2007, at 10:17 PM, Mitchell Joe wrote:

> -It would be great if my ATM could remember what I usually do. I
> usually ask for $100 from checking, no receipt, no balance. If I
> entered my card and then my PIN and then saw a button that said '$100
> from checking - no receipt', that would be great. That would be my
> favorite button. And then it could just offer me the other options if
> I needed them.