Could you imagine if that ATM you were hoping to draw cash from actually connected you to a live teller via a TV and Internet connection? One man’s invention hopes to keep banks open 24/7 using a simple, webcam-like contraction that allows you to communicate with a teller that could be just about anywhere reports KSL.com.
Gene Pranger’s shop in Sandy is where the machines are assembled. They’re currently in use at about a dozen banks and credit unions east of the Mississippi.
It’s a lot like an ATM, except there’s a real, live teller, somewhere. The teller could be almost anywhere. In our demonstration he was in a cubicle, communicating with Pranger by a TV and internet connection. It combines the advantages of an ATM, a drive-up window, internet banking and teleconferencing.
The teller can view your ID and pass judgment on your signature electronically.
“This can handle a multitude of teller transactions, what we say, 96 percent of all teller transactions can occur on this machine,” Pranger said.
Unlike an ATM, it’s personal.
“People know it’s a live person on the other end. And they have the same conversations that they have with tellers, if they were standing live, face to face,” Pranger explained.
For banks, the advantage is tellers can be in a call center or even work from home, serving dozens of bank branches remotely. A New York credit union found it’s now cost-effective to have a teller on duty, even in the middle of the night.
“We have the first financial institution, worldwide, that’s open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” Pranger said.
Video Courtesy of KSL.com