ATMs: Two things

josh:

1. Why don’t ATM cards remember anything about me? Like, for example, my preference for the English language? It’s such a stupid step to have to select my language every time.
2. Why don’t ATM cards let you pick a second PIN to use in an emergency? It would still let you withdraw money, but also call the police and tell them where you are. If someone holds you up, they wouldn’t know you used your emergency PIN and you still give them your money (and end up not getting shot, hopefully) but the police can respond faster. (In my futuristic fantasy, the ATM sends the police images from its camera which go right to the squad cars, helping them identify the attacker.)

3. Why do they even have the “Fast Cash” option? It only saves you from going through one extra menu screen. That’s not fast, that’s barely convenient. If they wanted it to be fast, they should put it on the screen directly after we enter our pin. I’ve always been miffed at out slow and clunk the User Interface is in today’s ATM’s. I can get e-mail on my phone now. Hey banks, step it up.