New Technology Turns Computer Into Atm
A group of companies last week announced they have developed new technology that can turn almost any personal computer into an automatic teller machine.
Called MoneyClip, it will allow its users “to perform virtually any ATM transaction from the comfort of their homes,” said Daniel M. Schley, chairman and chief executive of Home Financial Network Inc., one of the device’s four developers.
Consumers can buy devices now that attach to a PC and allow them to check an account balance, pay bills, transfer funds between accounts, or download electronic “cash” onto what’s known as a smart card. The smart card, a plastic card embedded with a silicon chip, can then be used to make a purchase over the Internet or as cash at merchants that accept them.
But the devices on the market now have to be hooked up to a computer port, take up desk space and are not portable.
By contrast, MoneyClip is a portable diskette that carries a smart card and the software necessary to access a bank account. It can be fed into the floppy drive of any PC.
In order to use MoneyClip, a PC has to be already loaded with online banking software, and the user has to have an account at a bank that offers online banking.
Schley said MoneyClip developers have established relationships with 20 of the 50 largest banks in the United States, although none have formally signed on to offer the service.
Another hurdle is that smart cards, although popular in Europe and Japan, are not widely accepted in the United States. Only a handful of merchants, most in pilot projects in Atlanta and San Francisco, have invested in the devices that process transactions at the point of sale.
“It’s a chicken-and-egg issue,” said Joseph E. Smith, an executive vice president at InteliData, another MoneyClip developer.
“Should we deploy the point-of-service smart-card terminal first, or put it in the consumer’s hands first?” The makers of MoneyClip have chosen to do the latter, in the hope that more customers will start demanding that merchants accept them.
The other developers are V-ONE and Fischer International. It will retail for $59.95.