Using an ATM soon may be like a scene out of a science fiction movie.
In a push for more security, Itautec S.A. announced June 23 a new, touchless, 3D-imaging ATM that enables users to conduct transactions without ever touching the machine.
The Sao Paulo-based company unveiled the technology last week in Sao Paulo at Ciab Febraban 2011, Latin America’s largest financial and technology trade show. Conference-goers got a chance to try out the 3D interface at a prototype Itautec ATM.
When deployed, the ATM would sit behind a secure wall as users interact with the holographic images it projects in front of them. Customers would gesture left or right or point forward to select a withdrawal or other banking option, and they would not need to touch anything until the cash is dispensed.
The display was a hit at Ciab Febrabanas attendees lined up to play with the touchless interface, Marcio Dvorkin, Itautec America general manager, said in a phone interview. “I almost started selling popcorn in the line,” he said with a laugh.
The purpose behind the touchless innovation is increased security. Brazilian banks have seen thieves actually blow up ATMs with dynamite, while in the U.S. some thieves take the whole machine. Putting the unit behind a secure wall would prevent either type of crime, Dvorkin said.
Itautec also unveiled its face-tracking technology, which automatically ends an ATM session if the user walks away or if another walks up. Even if someone peeks over the user’s shoulder, the software recognizes a new face and terminates the session.
Dvorkin said he hopes the 3D technology will be ready for use in ATMs in Brazil within a few years and in the rest of the world soon thereafter. He could not say how much he thought the new ATMs might cost but did not anticipate it being much more than traditional ATMs.
“We don’t expect it to be too much more expensive than today,” he said. “Of course it’s going to be more expensive, but we don’t expect it to be anything absurdly expensive. We think that the security is going to pay for the difference by itself.”
Itautec already has begun a pilot with cash-recycling technology in its ATMs. The machines automatically redirect cash deposits to use for withdrawals, lessening the number of armored truck cash deliveries and pickups. Most ATMs conduct cash deposits and withdrawals separately. Dvorkin anticipates the cash-recycling technology will be ready to use in ATMs in the U.S. by the end of the year.
