Envelope-free ATMs popping up soon

With all the chicanery that's been going on with ATMs of late, it looks like the machines are finally getting back at the humans. In a move that's already confusing creatures of habit, envelope-free ATMs are starting to pop up in highly-trafficked areas, and as the name implies, they require that your deposits not be stuffed into an envelope beforehand. Diebold, NCR, and, Wincor Nixdorf (among others) are beginning to roll out these newfangled machines, which cost some 20-percent more than typical ATMs and sport specialized scanners that can detect how much cash you're actually inserting as you slide your check / bills into its theoretical mouth. The biggest boon here is the drop in processing costs to banks, while customers are likely to be pleased with instant receipts and nearly-instant access to the fundage. 'Course, we're just counting down the days until yet another ATM trickster figures out how to convert a Hershey's wrapper into a $20 bill.

[Image courtesy of ABC]

[Bill @ Jul 19th 2007 9:23AM]

These ATMs have been in use for quite a while in Atlanta. Bank of America are replacing all their old ones with these. They are really quick with transactions as long as your check has no folds in it. Keep those checks flat and don't put them in your wallet.

[Joe @ Jul 19th 2007 11:07AM]

But is BofA still going to rape you with $39 overage fees because they process all withdrawals before deposits in a given 24 hour period regardless of the which was actually made first!!?!?!?!?! Yes, probably.

[StinkyPete @ Jul 19th 2007 12:17PM]

Nothing new, PEFCU had ATMs with scanners AND fingerprint readers since 2002.

[Kacy @ Jul 19th 2007 12:41PM]

Bill Nuti??

[Chris Clark @ Jul 19th 2007 9:24AM]

My local bank in Maryland has been using this type of machine for at least 6 months now. It's great not having to stuff envelopes or plugging in amounts on checks.

[nate @ Jul 19th 2007 1:18PM]

what local bank are you using; as I am in MD too and thinking about making a switch

[Jason @ Jul 19th 2007 9:26AM]

http://www.bankofamerica.com/promos/jump/imageatm/?adlink=000302072g540000c197

[miklnk @ Jul 19th 2007 9:28AM]

Hasn't this been around? I don't know about the cash thing, but I know of ATMs that scan in checks when you insert them and you don't need an envelope. Sounds pretty near the same thing to me if you just want no envelopes.

[hokiewalrus @ Jul 19th 2007 9:36AM]

Yup, the PNC Bank ATM down the street from me has accepted envelope-free checks for over a year now.

[Allan @ Jul 19th 2007 10:00AM]

Ditto the checks part. The bank I had 10 yrs ago could do this.

I'd get out of work late Friday nights and that would be my first stop on the way home so that my money was available ASAP. It would just scan my paycheck and try to figure out how much it was - and allowed you to make corrections if it couldn't read it correctly (which was helpful when depositing personal checks with crappy handwriting).

I've since moved and changed banks and really miss those couple ATMs that would actually do it. Though the best part about those ATMs was that it would cash the checks too - so they dispensed all bills and change. You could withdraw $6.47 if you wanted to.

[Chris @ Jul 19th 2007 9:34AM]

This was the last straw for me and BoA. These machines are technologically more advanced, but they made my ATM experience much more difficult. It was easier to add everything up before you went to the bank, stick all the checks in one envelope, and insert into the machine in a single transaction. As a result of this "innovation" the time i spend in front of the atm machine quadrupled because I have to feed the checks individually. And as a result, my grumpiness and the amount of grumpiness of the people in line behind me has increased proportionately.

Now I use USAA... 100x better. I can deposit checks by scanning the image at home, or I can mail them with prepaid envelopes, again without leaving my home.

[James @ Jul 19th 2007 10:00AM]

You have to feed them individually? Wells Fargo's let you put in a stack of up to 10 and then tells you the total and lets you look at the checks individually if you think the OCR messed up.

[YouFaceTheTick @ Jul 19th 2007 10:24AM]

James - if I must confirm each check individually then it's still a slower, less user-friendly system. It's a regression that only serves to help the bank. Put in 10 checks at a time or put each one in every ten seconds...either way the POS systems force you to confirm the amount of the checks. Bad design. Horrid.

[john @ Jul 19th 2007 1:32PM]

scan them at home?!? aren't they worried about photoshopping some numbers???

[Chris @ Jul 19th 2007 12:56PM]

@John

Good question. I suppose that since USAA is not open to the public-at-large for membership, they probably consider check fraud a lower risk than most other financial institutions that will give someone an account as long as they have a face.

Point being, with USAA, it would be more difficult to create an account under a false identity, deposit a falsified check, and transfer the funds. Buuuut... gettin' off topic.

[daedalus @ Jul 19th 2007 9:34AM]

PNC has been using this for a while too

[Ian Pullens @ Jul 19th 2007 9:36AM]

umm... yeah, like the other posts said... this is OLD NEWS.
My bank, Bank of America has had those ATMs for over a year in the DC area.
infact any BOM I have been to in DC, MD, VA and PA have had them. and it is totaly comen place. every one has been using them with ease. when it scans your check, it shows you the image of it on the screen and then asks you if it guessed the amount corectly.

[Cameron Campbell @ Jul 19th 2007 9:37AM]

What's the deal here? Until now you couldn't deposit money and then take it back out immediately?

[ScOObyDoo @ Jul 19th 2007 9:38AM]

Oh great. Now when I have to deposit my drug money I'll be stuck there for an hour stuffing 20's in the slot.

[Kevin @ Jul 19th 2007 7:08PM]

we already have these in chase atms in indianapolis u can insert up to 40 bills at a time so inserting bills one at a time wouldnt be a problem

[Pedro @ Jul 19th 2007 9:41AM]

We've had these in the UK for a while now. Unfortunately, it has been my experience that they break much more frequently. They are often unavailable for use as they need to be repaired, whereas the more traditional ATMs seem to keep on working just fine.

[Mike smith @ Jul 19th 2007 9:43AM]

These things have been in england (HSBC) for quite a while now, once you have inserted the cheque you get a little scan of the cheque printed out on a reciept as confirmation that it was accepted, easy to use...but not exactly brand new technology to be posting about..

[somename1500 @ Jul 19th 2007 9:43AM]

"Theoretical mouth"? Can someone tell me WTF that means?

[chris @ Jul 19th 2007 1:34PM]

I don't think that word means what he thinks it means... Maybe a closer word would be "analogous"? (still not technically correct)

[jrin @ Jul 19th 2007 9:45AM]

yah, boa has had this forever -- it's nice in that it processes your deposit instantly, however, it takes FOREVER to make a deposit!!! sometimes when I have a bunch of cash, I have to do it like 6 times because it never can go through 20+ bills w/out saying "sorry, we couldn't process all your bills, please take the left over and try again", or something along those lines.

[Jake @ Jul 19th 2007 9:56AM]

Also a BoA user, and we've had these at my local branches for over a year.

All-in-all I don't notice them, but there is one thing they COMPLETELY SUCK for: rebate checks!

I hardly EVER have cash or checks to deposit (I'm a 21st Century consumer). About the only checks I handle are rebate checks. These ATMs are VERY sensitive to the width of the check. If its not a standard size (ie, personal check, cashier's check, or business check), then the machine just spits it out repeatedly. With a few of those new "postcard checks" that some rebate fulfillers are using (no envelope, just an addressed cardboard check in your mailbox), I've had to ditch the ATM altogether and go stand in line to rant at a cashier.

Come to think of it, that's pretty much how 50% of my deposit scenarios have ended in the last year.

So I take it back. I hate these f-ing things.

[James @ Jul 19th 2007 10:00AM]

These ATMs have been used by Wells Fargo in the Bay Area for at least a year. They were here when I moved down last August, so they could have been around even longer. They really cut down on all the time involved in making a deposit and eliminate stupid adding errors.

[Matthew @ Jul 19th 2007 10:09AM]

My small federal credit union in Georgia has been using these for about two years... they are tremendously more convenient!

[Karl @ Jul 19th 2007 10:16AM]

Here in Germany, we've had these machines for quite a while. If these machines are anything like what we have, you don't put notes in one-by-one (so no waiting). You put them in a bundle, and it somehow separates the notes and detects the value of each. They're pretty good, actually.

[lin @ Jul 19th 2007 10:20AM]

Wow people still carry checks? I guess we've done direct deposit for 15+ years so I don't realize the inconveniences. More companies need credit unions. They're awesome!

[YouFaceTheTick @ Jul 19th 2007 10:21AM]

All over CA bank of america has replaced their good ATMs with these screaming pieces of sh!t.

Top issues:

1. Dropping off checks is SLOW - you must wait for a scanner to create an image of the check and then confirm the amount on the check. This easily adds 10 seconds to the transaction.

2. Dropping off multiple checks is excruciatingly slow as you must do step one repeatedly. What used to take 5-10 seconds total, now takes about 40-50 seconds with 2 checks. Bump to over a minute for 3, etc. This ONLY saves time for the bank (they needn't physically process the checks later, removing them from envelopes, etc) - it increases the amount of time one spends at the ATM with no benefit for the end-user.

3. Crappy capacitive touchscreens. What f^cking genius decided to to do away with the buttons and go for capacitive touchscreens? I can understand resistive, but capacitive requires users to physically press their fingertip (nails, pens, etc won't work with capacitive screens) against the screen. Give me back the old fashioned buttons along the side of the screen.

4. Systems are massive - which seems fine until you use one from a car. Then you see that you must use the keyboard and the screen that's mounted much higher. Can't imagine how the disabled will appreciate this horrid design.

I sincerely hope these new systems fail.

[itguy07 @ Jul 19th 2007 10:21AM]

Rather them work on getting off Windows as the software for these machines. Many run on some version of CE or XP embedded. And that scares the living daylights out of me.

[Antti @ Jul 19th 2007 10:26AM]

Here in Finland I give my account number to my company and thay pay me straight there, twice a month.

[Justin @ Jul 19th 2007 10:26AM]

My CU has had this for 6 months or so, checks go in one at a time then it scans them with an OCR system to read the amount and you confirm.

Cash you can put in as much as will fit in the six inch high or so box, then it closes and counts it.

The BOFA here (I bank with them too) doesn’t have it yet; so when I went to make a deposit over the weekend I wasn’t able to because I didn’t have an envelope and they didn’t either.

[horsenbuggy @ Jul 19th 2007 10:26AM]

I've had this for about a year. I now actually make deposits at the ATM. I never trusted that envelope scheme. I find that I have to write down the amount of the check first and then deposit it so that I can be sure the machine is reading it correctly. I only had trouble once when I was trying to deposit several checks with the same total. My weekly paycheck (before I could get Direct Deposit) was naturally the same amount each week. I think the machine thought I was trying to scam it when I fed the third one in. (Yes, I was a little behind in depositing my checks.)

[cromas @ Jul 19th 2007 10:50AM]

ATMs in Japan have a big hole that opens up. You throw everything, including coins, in one big slot, and it closes and automatically feeds and counts everything.

Once again, America is "upgrading" to out-of-date technology. EDGE anyone?

[rockintom @ Jul 19th 2007 10:52AM]

Er, there have been two envelope-free BECU ATMs where I work for the past few months.

[meg @ Jul 19th 2007 11:04AM]

For me the ATM is always envelope free. They're always out of envelopes when I go there. I end up searching the car for any old mail and using a regular envelope. This would be better, I think.

[Jeff Shininger @ Jul 19th 2007 11:08AM]

I work for NCR on their ATM Software Application and this is indeed old news. This has been out in the field ever since the Check 21 law was passed. It has, in the recent year, become more abundant and accepted by both the consumers and banks. It's actually funny this story ran because I was comparing my office internet usage in relation to "Engadget Hits" with our interns this morning. The winner had over 5,000 hits this month. ;-)

[Jeff Kreider @ Jul 19th 2007 1:02PM]

Obviously at NCR you aren't making leaps and bounds to advance this product if you and your "interns" have enough time to not only visit the website that much, but also talk about it. Maybe the services offered by these ATM's would be better if their Developers and Interns were more driven.

[Kacy @ Jul 19th 2007 1:10PM]

It's lunchtime you ass.

[Boynamedsue @ Jul 19th 2007 11:14AM]

for all wells fargos cock suckery, i'm impressed by the ATMs they have with this tech, i can put in a stack of some of the most badly written checks from roommates, and its yet to make a mistake on figuring out what amount their scribbles mean.

[Jonathan Kim @ Jul 19th 2007 11:15AM]

they have these at la jolla already. its pretty neat. the scan of the checks always comes out correctly.

[007baf @ Jul 19th 2007 11:22AM]

I rarely use the ATM anymore, but when I first encountered one of these at Ent Federal Credit Union in Colorado, I was amazed. I like the receipt because it prints the scan of the check (minus some key info that is blacked out for security) for your records. Very slick.

[Onesolo @ Jul 19th 2007 11:46AM]

BAHAHH!!!!!
ROFTL!!!!!!
Here in Portugal, probably on of the most advanced countries in terms of ATM, we have this machines for years!!! At least 5 years. I only have to pop my check into the ATM and the machine will display on the monitor the same check.

[Gwydion @ Jul 20th 2007 11:33AM]

The same in Spain, I have made deposits in ATM's without envelope since year 2.000

[KR @ Jul 19th 2007 12:30PM]

I do all of my ATMing and depositing with BofA in midtown Manhattan, but I still use the envelope method. According to the BofA website, the locations I use accept this "new" depositing method. Does this mean that the machines will accept either?

Or are there both types of machines at various locations, and somehow I always manage to get an envelope machine?

[YouFaceTheTick @ Jul 19th 2007 12:45PM]

You just may be lucky enough find machines that take the envelopes still. What I wouldn't give to get away from the sh!ttastic world of low-grade/ancient tech like capacitive touchscreens (also featured on the iphone and utterly a piece of crap because of it) and lame single check confirmation. I want to take all my renters checks, put them in one envelope, punch in the amount and walk away. If I have to go through and confirm the amount on each check, what the hell is the bank doing for me?

[TheRedMonkey @ Jul 19th 2007 1:57PM]

Wells Fargo in Salinas, CA has been using them for a while. You can select to have a copy of your check printed on the top of receipt. According to my mom its never been wrong about the check amount either, hand written or printed.

[Alex Yee @ Jul 19th 2007 2:00PM]

We got some of these in the UK building society of Halifax. For crumpled up five pound notes (crisp £5 notes are rare at the moment). I know as i made the machine at my local branch go out of order when 2 £5 got jammed in the machine. However for cheques they'rte really good and use handwritting recognition to determine the value and on he reciept it hasa scanned copy of the cheque.