Bank Machine supplied the UK’s first-ever independent ATM (Automated Teller Machine) to a Birmingham-based Spar store in December 1998. And that same store is still using Bank Machine and never hesitates to renew its contract - that’s typical of our loyal customers. Bank Machine has remained the premier supplier in the market by ensuring customer service remains our top priority. But years before the independent sector began providing consumer choice, ATMs were developed by banks wishing to reduce their staff costs. The idea came in the 1960s from John Shepherd-Barron, a Scot with a background in printing money and then moving it around - he had helped introduce armoured trucks from the US to the UK. A few years later, he returned the favour by taking ATMs to the Americans. Enjoying a bath one night, he thought up the idea of an ATM because he was "infuriated" at not being able to access his cash when the banks were shut. He developed the idea and then worked backwards to find out how to make it work. Shepherd-Barron is reported to have said that his big break came when he approached the General Manager of Barclays Bank, who immediately saw the potential of ATMs. A deal was quickly struck, and within a year the world’s first ATM was installed outside a London branch of Barclays Bank. Others quickly followed. At first, these needed a special token to operate them, but eventually cards with a magnetic strip were introduced. And it wasn’t long before ATMs were spreading throughout the world. But, surprisingly, the idea was never patented, as it was feared that the patent document would allow criminals to work out the computer code used. Despite his visionary approach, Shepherd-Barron wasn’t right about everything. He knew ATMs would change banking, yet thought they would have a limited life as we would move to a ’cashless’ society. But, as the astonishing growth of the independent ATM industry proves, cash is still king and shows no signs of losing its crown.