Say No to lousy ATMs
Why would one go to an ATM? If one attempts a precise answer, I think almost 90% of the people would say, ‘To check my account balance and draw money from it’.
Nowadays the ‘Q’ in front of ATMs would make a Kerosense ‘Q’ in ration shops look small, especially during the first few days of the month. Yet our stupid banks (both pubic and private sector) could not care less to improve the plight of the ordinary ATM user.
Just consider this scenario. I go to my HDFC ATM, enter my Card, type in the PIN, and the next screen is a gateway screen where there are buttons for all types of transactions. Here I select, ‘Cash Withdrawals’ and then there is a screen which advises me to keep my password safe with a ‘Press here to continue’ option. Grrrrr!!!
Up to here is bad enough, but no, apparently we deserve more for opening an account in banks as lousy as these. The next screen leaves me completely baffled. It asks me if mine is a SAVINGS ACCOUNT or CURRENT ACCOUNT. I mean, if you can authenticate my card and PIN and link my account, can’t you see that I hold only a salary account in your bank? Does it take rocket science to figure this out?
First and foremost, I think banks can save a lot of precious time for users by simply replacing the gateway screen with a screen which simply says
YOUR BALANCE IS ****.** along with
A Withdrawals button,
A Click here for other transactions button, and An Exit button.
I think it would save a lot of time for most of the users. This is similar to the difference between Yahoo Mail and GMail. GMail assumes that a person logs in not for fun but to check his mails. Yahoo on the other hand gives an ‘Inbox(5)’ information and asks the user to click again which I think is basically senseless.
And secondly, banks should do away with jarring ads, “Keep your password safe” advices and those stupid “Savings Account” and “Current Account” option screen. I mean, why even give a chance to the user to select a wrong option? If I hold a Savings account and if I click a Current account, will the bank let me draw money from some other guy’s Current account? No? Then why the hell do we need such a stupid screen?
Also, I think there should be a Interactive Voice Response system option for novice users. Too many times I’ve seen people (especially the older generation) struggling to figure out how to operate ATMs. A friendly IVR would help them in no small measure.
In a Q of 10 people, if each person saves atleast a minute by all these optimisations, the 11th would go to the ATM at least a good 10 minutes earlier than usual. I think that would be a good enough improvement in user experience to warrant a change in the ATM interface.
January 8th, 2007 at 12:44 pm
PK, i might slightly agree with the Savings Account / Current Account Option.
But, it is all about the speed and standards. The global money standards have different message structures for different requests.
A Balance enquiry would require lesser authorization, whereas the Cash withdrawal means serious authorization. It is not standard to show your balance on the front screen without you requesting for it. We dont show it unless you ask for it. It becomes delicate when it shows up, when you are with someone, or standing in a open ATM. Also, a request message doing multiple things on the go would reduce response time, and the message would fetch data which at times you may not require.
Take my word, the more data expected out of a message, the less speed we get on the ATM. FYI, a few ATM switches dont work on Databases even. They are on flat files.. they dont switch because the databases make it slower. eFunds EP people might tell you better.
Besides, every message means money. Balance enquiry is charged across banks (may not be charged directly at you). You may be right, that we can make the ATMs distinguish cards that may not get charged.. but that costs response time.
January 8th, 2007 at 12:57 pm
Karthi,
You’re right. Every fifth user is robbed of their money via ATM related frauds.
Say No to lousy ATM. But, only if every store / street vendor / public offices (even for bribe) / etc., accepts “Smart Cards”. We don’t have to have MONEY in our pocket :).
January 8th, 2007 at 3:05 pm
It does sucks may they have done it to prevent atm frauds
January 8th, 2007 at 4:12 pm
Karthi- I think asking whether it is a savings or current account after you enter your PIN maynot be valid in India, but in Australia, it is highly valid. In Australia, you can have one debit card and get it linked to your savings account, high interest account, home loan account and a cheque account.
In the same way, a credit card can also be linked to such accounts and their balances can be checked over the phone, internet and through ATMs. This technique helps the customer to pay their same bank credit card through the savings account by a simple transfer of funds thru the ATM.
So, maybe the Indian public / private sector banks are just providing the base technology for the future. After all, every bank in the world wants more and more customers to have more affiliation with them. Banks are nowadays becoming like a supermarket, catering to every financial need for a customer.
This my humble view.
January 8th, 2007 at 5:26 pm
Mr.deepak sonathai vazhi mozhikiren.
January 8th, 2007 at 9:33 pm
Keerthi
>>It becomes delicate when it shows up, when you are with someone, or standing in a open ATM.
Idellam daan something we need to actually verify and see. Was any studies done on this aspect? I know Prof. Anirudha Joshi of IITB did some research on ATMs in india. but am not sure abt this aspect.
I guess PIN numbers are supposed to be confidential. that being the case, i am not supposed to allow any one near me.
It’s like saying, ‘lets make accessing mails more difficult coz someone might be near u watching’. Well if someone indeed was there, thats my mistake in the first place.
At the least, i ‘d say ask the users for their feedback. Try some simple things and see how it works.
Every response might be a cost, but i guess its also a cost for the user as well as the ATM if someone fiddles in an ATM for 5/10 minutes not knowing/struggling what to do.
I mean if X ppl can use an ATM, and with all our standards and efficiency only X-200 can use in a day, i think it hurts both the parties.
January 8th, 2007 at 9:38 pm
Vichoo,
Dei Welcome here, man!
Yeah i think smart cards make lot of sense.
Aana adhai nee sollumbodhu daan vera edho ulnokkam irukara madhiri theriyudhu
Ganesh,
Adaan ella ATMs layum kottai ezhuthile potrukaangle. ‘ONE PERSON BEYOND THIS’ nu?
i dont know. i am not aware of any studies which shows a correlation between these so called standards and keeping frauds to a minimum. For now i think its just dumb on the part of ppl who install and customize these machines.
January 8th, 2007 at 9:47 pm
Deepak and Srikanth,
For all we know, adhu India la kooda irukalaam or illama irukalaam.
But en card ku adhu relevant illai na enakku screen la varakoodadhu, period.
In short i expect the ATMs to be much more intelligent.
‘Balance charge panradhu ellam paisa so ipdi daan veipom’ na. it reminds me of something.
Apparently. the google guys had gone to the major Internet search specialists ( altavista, yahoo etc) to acquire their technology for 1 Million or something
In yahoo, they rejected it bcos this google method allows the user to go out of the
yahoo portal with a single click. Yahoo guys thought, keeping the user in yahoo portal alone would help them make money, not in any other way:)
So its always better to make the life of the user better. Illena u r inviting competition.
January 8th, 2007 at 10:12 pm
Adhukku dhaan velila pogumbodhu periyavanga…”kai la chillara irukka” nnu kepaanga.
Never used an ATM. So no probs!!!
January 8th, 2007 at 10:47 pm
“Illena u r inviting competition. ”
Ileana-ku competition yaaru? Thaanai Thalaivi Ileana is incomparable, no competittionm-nu ungalai echarikkirom
BTW, Ganguly top-score pannitane? Ippo enna solreenga?
January 8th, 2007 at 11:23 pm
sree,
sutham!
raj,
Nenachen inda kelvi varlioye nu.
I guess Ganguly was the best among the worst.
He deserves credit for his efforts.
January 9th, 2007 at 12:36 am
I agree…The ATM’s can be more user friendly. Let me see if I can write a proposal / atleast a email! to some banks here.!
January 9th, 2007 at 2:46 am
Heard that banks are advised to set the ATM pin as 8 characters instead of 4. No idea when it will be effective.
January 9th, 2007 at 1:49 pm
Narayanan Sir,
thanks! super adai panni paarunga!
Swami,
No idea
January 9th, 2007 at 9:40 pm
pk, idhai thaan yaam appove sonnom - atleast 30 average pannuvannu. I had trust in his tenacity. Whatever his shortcomings, determination is not one of the,
January 9th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
idukku dhaan old fashioned govt bank like PNB use pannanom, fewer ATMs but then much quicker
their withdrawal is romba simple.
February 4th, 2007 at 11:09 am
dear friends, the screen which asks for current account and savings account screen is a common screen it can’t be changed for each user, i have both current as well as savings bank account both being linked to my ATM card, think form this point of view, things are being streamlined, and they will change, different ATM machines work differently do you remember that the previous ATM’s used take in the card whereas nowadays it a dip in and take out
February 4th, 2007 at 11:14 am
david,
welcome here!
I dont have any objection if that screen is shown to users who have both types of accounts!
But if u can get my account number right, you should also get my account type right without asking me. Otherwise we are not making optimum use of technology and irritating the user.
February 17th, 2007 at 1:02 pm
PK sir idhu evvalavo paravayillai..En kathaiyai kelunga..
I went to road side drive in ATM to withdraw some money…Everthing went fine until screen said Take your money…I didnt see any money coming out from ATM.
I got out of my car..Tried Bravo approach..Wending machinela some times things veliya vartta , oru punch ore push vitta varume antha approach panna ready aaitien.
I was trying to push the ATM, aiiayago my luck a Roaming cop(mama) came near to me..
And he asked wat r u doing…you look suspicious…
I said this ATM looks suspicious to me..
He asked me what happened. i said i lost my money..it didnt come out.
He said ok try agian, i started from beginnig for demostration…
Same msg, Take your money but didnt come out..
Huh..huh Again i lost another 100 dollars…..
Cop said, yes u r correct ATM looks suspicious and it is broken. And he left from the scene..
I took the hanging phone from ATM and dialed the help line.
I Got a beautiful recorded female voice “Sorry we are experiening difficulties please redial later”…..
So i wouldnt mind if screen msg says “savings account or checking account”
But i would mind if money didnt come out from ATM…
February 27th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
I was wondering if anyone could give an insight on how money is created in India. Do we still have a gold backed money system or is it a system that create money out of debt like in US and other major western countries? The reason for asking this question which may sound so ’silly’ is that in the recent years, I learned that US Federal Reserve is a privately owned banking cartel and by calling it Federal Reserve, it’s propagating a double-lie: that is, first of all it has nothing to do with Federal Govt. and second it has nothing in Reserve but the term is being used as a misnomer to mislead the public in to believing that all is well and governed by the Govt.