An automated teller machine or automatic teller machine, now known as an ATM, is a machine that provides customers with access to their financial transactions without the help of a cashier or bank teller. Customers can access their bank accounts from ATMs and make cash withdrawals, deposit cash and checks, and check their balances.

It was on this day, September 2, 1969, that the first ATM machine went into service at Chemical Bank in Rockville Center, New York and changed the banking industry forever. Donald Wetzel and his company, Docutel, designed the first ATM, which was actually known as a Docuteller at the time. Users would insert their specially coded card that enabled them to dispense a fixed amount of cash.

Today, ATMs are found all over the world – in shopping malls, grocery stores, airports, restaurants, and practically anywhere a crowd can be found. It has been estimated that over 2.2 million ATMs are currently in use globally. One can even be found in McMurdo Station, Antarctica.