Touchpoint News: ATM inventor Honoured and more

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ATM inventor honoured after 40 years:

The Scot credited with inventing the automated cash machine has been awarded an OBE - 40 years on. John Shepherd-Barron, 79, from Tain in Ross-shire, said the accolade was "better late than never".

He came up with the idea of the auto-teller in the early 1960s after becoming frustrated at not being able to access his own money at weekends.

He installed the world's first ATM at a branch of Barclays Bank in Enfield, North London, in 1967. At the time he was managing director of De La Rue Instruments.

Chemically coded:

The De La Rue Automatic Cash System took in cheques impregnated with Carbon 14, which were bought in advance from a bank teller, and exchanged them for cash.

Each cheque was chemically coded to identify between customers so money could be taken from the correct bank account. Mr Shepherd-Barron went on to supervise the installation of the machines in Switzerland, Philadelphia and Japan.

He said that despite some complaints from the US, the
Guinness Book of Inventions had recognised him as the inventor of the ATM.

"The thing that I have done obviously became an important feature of international banking," he added.

FDIC Suggests Enhancing Password System for Banks

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. recommended to financial institutions that they upgrade their existing password-based, single-factor customer authentication system to a two-factor system.

Other suggestions so far include the use of scanning software to identify and defend against phishing attacks, strengthening educational programs to help consumers avoid on-line scams, and placing a continued emphasis on information sharing among the financial services industry, government and technology providers.

EDS And Xerox Sign Services Agreement With Barclays

EDS and Xerox Corp. announced a $40million contract with Barclays Plc to supply its Workplace Management Services solution, which is designed to deliver fully managed office document services for print, copy and fax on a price-per-page basis. EDS’ Workplace Management Services solution is a key component of the company’s Agile Enterprise Platform strategy. Through this latest deal, EDS and Xerox will manage Barclays’ procurement, service and maintenance, helpdesk and user support for more than 2,250 Xerox and other devices across nearly 200 Barclays Group Office sites in the U.K. The five-and-a-half-year contract expands the services that EDS currently provides to Barclays as part of an existing, seven-year, $350 million IT services agreement.

CFOs Expect Growth in Capital and Technology Spending

CFOs expect to see growth in capital and technology spending at their companies during the next 12 months, despite acknowledging the impact of higher producer prices. According to the December CFO Outlook Survey, conducted by Financial Executives International and Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business, participating CFO’s expect capital spending at their companies to increase by 14 percent in the next 12 months.

These projections were made despite more than half, 56 percent, saying their companies have felt the impact of rising producer prices in the last quarter. When asked about permanent changes resulting from Sarbanes-Oxley Section 404, 57 percent said they had made “no substantive changes.” Others noted some positive changes. Thirty percent cited better control over documentation of systems changes, while 21 percent said the invested in a technology solution to monitor compliance and maintain and store internal control.