Technical Description

ATM

The City College of New York

ENGL 21007 Writing for Engineers

Professor Slentz

The revitalized art gallery is set to redefine cultural landscape.

Definition: What is an ATM machine and its main purpose?
Overview: An abstract about the ATMs
Components: Main parts of the machine, such as the card reader, cash dispenser, screen, keypad, etc.
Explanation: How do the parts work together to fulfill the ATM’s purpose?
Visuals: Pictures or diagrams showing different parts of the ATM and how they function.
Conclusion: A summary of its history, availability, safety features, and more.
References: List of sources.

Definition

It’s Friday evening, and you’ve just been paid. You’re heading to the ATM, you insert your card, punch in your PIN, and watch as the machine buzzes while taking the process to help you out. Then, the right moment appears, the screen flashes, and out comes the receipt whether your bank balance is so low that even your wallet looks embarrassed or the money needs some freedom out of your bank account. You’ve been there, we’ve all been there. And that’s what makes the ATM a true marvel of modern technology, it can take your money, but never your dignity.An Automated Teller Machine known as ATM is an electronic banking device that allows account holders to perform financial transactions without the help of a bank teller. ATMs enable users to withdraw cash, check account balances, and sometimes deposit money or transfer funds between accounts unlimitedly. The machine communicates with the bank’s servers to authenticate user credentials and process the requested transaction.

Overview

Clearly the use of an ATM involves 2 entities, User and the ATM itself. These are our actors. The user gives an instruction to the ATM and the ATM takes the appropriate action. Let’s look at a simple use case. If I need $250 worth of cash, I go to the nearest ATM, insert my card, enter the correct PIN, select the option of withdrawal, enter the digits 250, wait for the machine to dispense cash, collect the dispensed cash from the drawer, look at the remaining balance displayed on screen, get the receipt notification and then I exit. Although, there is a process around all that starting from the machine’s design until the cash inside.

Components

The card reader is responsible for reading the user’s debit or credit card. It detects the magnetic strip and then it extracts information such as the account number, routing number, IP address and bank code. When the user inserts the card, the card reader scans it to retrieve the card’s data. This data is then sent to the ATM’s internal system, which communicates with the bank’s network for identifying and verifying our identities. Then comes the cash dispenser. The cash dispenser is responsible for delivering the requested amount of cash to the user. After the ATM verifies the transaction such as a withdrawal request, the cash dispenser retrieves the appropriate amount of money from the internal vault. It counts the bills and delivers them to the user through an exit slot. The dispenser is equipped with mechanisms and codes to detect and reject bills because sometimes the machine doesn’t accept damaged money due to its suspicion to be unusable. The display screen is the main part when it comes to the bank user’s bank action by providing instructions and showing transaction options that the user would like to access. The screen is a touch panel that guides the user through each step of the process. It displays prompts for inserting the card, entering the PIN, and selecting a transaction type such as withdrawal, deposit, balance inquiry, money check or international money transfers with bank collabs such as Western Union. It also shows transaction details and warnings such as insufficient funds or invalid PIN.

Explanation

To go more deeper in explanation, The keypad allows the user to input their Personal Identification Number (PIN) and any necessary transaction information such as withdrawal amount. The keypad consists of a set of numeric buttons, sometimes along with function keys for additional options (such as cancel or change language). When a user enters their PIN, it is transmitted securely to the bank’s server for verification. The receipt printer provides a physical record of the transaction. After completing a transaction, the ATM prints a receipt that includes transaction details, such as the amount withdrawn, available balance, date, and location of the transaction. The printer uses thermal paper and is typically located near the cash dispenser or within the machine. The advantage of the receipt is that it doesn’t show your bank account information such as routing number or account number. Most receipts include only the last four digits of your bank account number which is a high level security authentication. Some ATMs also allow users to deposit cash or checks. The deposit slot is where users insert their deposits. The machine scans the cash or checks inserted to determine the value. The machine may provide a confirmation message or receipt for deposited funds, which are later verified by the bank. In order to make sure that everything is secured perfectly. Some ATMs are equipped with a speaker to provide audio prompts for blind people or people that are not familiar with reading and writing. The ATM will read out loud certain steps of the transaction, such as Please insert your card or Select a transaction type.Also in some ATMs such as Bank Of America, we could recognize the braille language that is made specifically for blind people that consists of dots. The security camera is responsible for the safety of both the user and the ATM.

Visuals

Fig 1.

Figure 2 provides a card reader, where the user inserts their debit or credit card for transaction processing

Figure 3 demonstrates the cash dispensing mechanism of the ATM, where the money is retrieved from a secure vault and delivered to the user

Conclusion

To conclude ATM is popular nowadays, not just because it could help you with your financial services but also because of how safe it is to use no matter where you are at what time is it or what’s going on? It’s better than the use of a bank teller because the ATM would do the same thing The bank teller would do. The only difference is that the ATM will get your service done in less time. Over time, ATMs have proved to meet the growing demands of users. Features like multi-language support, biometric authentication, and contactless transactions tell how ATMs are continuously evolving with advancements in technology. ATMs were good for banks too. The machines have reduced congestion in branches, cut labor costs and attracted new customers who might also be in need of loans and credit cards. Today, there are more than 3.2 million ATMs installed worldwide. No matter how innovations Develop the ATM will remain a primary source of banking services.

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