The First ‘Hole in the Wall’
23
JANUARY, 2018
Everything starts somewhere and the 3 million cashpoint machines around the world can all trace themselves back to a single money dispenser in Enfield, North London.
Sir Thomas Bland, Deputy Chairman of Barclays Bank, unveils the first Barclaycash machine in the London borough of Enfield, UK, 27th June 1967. Behind him is Mr A. G. Norman, Chairman of De La Rue, and on the right is actor Reg Varney (1916 – 2008).
Source: Getty
Barclays Bank, Enfield unveiled the first such machine on June 27, 1967. It was the invention of Scotsman John Shepherd-Barron and the first withdrawal was made by TV comedy star Reg Varney of ‘On The Buses’.
A gold painted ATM
To celebrate 50 years in 2017, the Enfield bank painted an ATM gold and laid down a red carpet to it, adding red velvet ropes and gold posts to complete the effect. Potentially a very stylish way of finding out you are out of funds!
From that single withdrawal from a London bank in 1967, £175 billion was retrieved from cash machines in 2016.
