7 But we will come back to this point in a bit.īut how did ATMs affect the job of tellers? Interestingly, as ATMs expanded-from 100,000 in 1990 to about 400,000 or so until recently-the number of tellers employed by banks did not fall, contrary to what one might have expected. 6 The next stage in the evolution of the ATMs maybe “robo-banks” that can pretty much do what tellers in branches do today. The latest innovations, though, are the integration with mobile technology through so-called “cardless” ATMs with larger and more tablet-like screens. And, more recently, ATMs with video capabilities have become more prevalent. The 1980s saw the birth of “drive-up” ATMs, followed by “talking” ATMs with voice instructions in the late 1990s. Since their modest beginnings as cash-dispensing services, ATMs have evolved with the times. It is hard to believe, but ATMs have been around for 50 years now. 4Īs we contemplate what automation means for banking in the future, can we draw any lessons from one of the most successful innovations the industry has seen-the automated teller machine, or ATM? Of course, the ATM as we know it now may be a far cry from the supermachines of tomorrow, but it might be instructive to understand how the ATM transformed branch banking operations and the jobs of tellers. Think about it: Robotic process automation and artificial intelligence applications are becoming more pervasive, with automation rapidly moving from the back-office to the front-office. Banking, which has been at the forefront of this new “machine age,” 3 will especially experience profound impact. (By “automation” I mean machines/tools powered by computing and artificial intelligence that can now do tasks hitherto done by people.)Īs is typical of any information technology, changes wrought will hit all industries. This is primarily because the wave of automation we are witnessing today is a byproduct of multiple technologies that have accelerated in the past few years to such a degree that we are reaching a tipping point in terms of superior performance and cost economics. Will advances in robotics, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing make machines so smart and efficient that they can replace humans in many roles today? The answer, if you believe the assertions of many experts, seems like a yes. 1 As a parent worried about my kids’ future, I can’t help but wonder how work as we know it, and, as a result, society itself, will be radically transformed by machines in the decades ahead. It is only natural, I presume, to feel somewhat anxious when you hear prognostications about automation’s impact on jobs. A blog post by Val Srinivas, Banking & Securities research leader, Deloitte Services LP