Photo by Redspotted / CC BY 2.0

A group formed by a descendent of the man credited with inventing the first ATM has declared “World ATM Day” on June 27, and plans celebrations in honor of the machine.

The ATM Appreciation Society bills itself as an organization of ATM enthusiasts dedicated to preserving and celebrating the technology and its history.

“Half of the adult world is forced to rely on cash. To many of them, the ATM is not a luxury; it is indispensable. Yet, at the same time, it is so under-appreciated. We walk past them every day but don’t stop to reflect on how crucial they are to the way most of the world still lives,” Society founder James Shepherd-Barron said in a statement. “I founded The ATM Appreciation Society to celebrate what is actually the world’s original ‘fintech’ and to highlight the pivotal role cash machines play in reducing disaster risk and enhancing financial inclusion.”

The group said it plans to mark the date London-based Barclay’s Bank installed the first ATM – called a “Barclaycash” machine, at the time – in one of its North London branches in 1967. Birthday festivities every June 27 will include an announcement of the “extreme ATM of the year,” celebrating how some of the planet’s 3.2 million ATMs can be found in rather inhospitable places.

“Some of these ATMs are pretty extreme,” Shepherd-Barron said. “Did you know,” he said by way of example, “that the world’s smallest ATM is on a bagel stall in New York City? Or that the world’s ‘wettest’ is in County Cork, Ireland and that floating ATMs are used in flood relief operations in Pakistan? Did you know that ATMs contain up to 32 sensors, some of which are capable of monitoring behavioral biometrics to the point that kidnapping and human trafficking can be thwarted? Or that they can monitor the spread of communicable diseases such as COVID-19?”

More information can be found at theatmappreciationsociety.org