Study for the Life in the United Kingdom Test. Prepare with flashcards and multiple choice questions, each offering hints and explanations. Get ready for your exam!

Multiple Choice

Who invented the cash-dispensing ATM (automatic teller machine) or 'cashpoint'?

James Goodfellow is the person behind the first practical cash-dispensing ATM. He designed a machine that could read a bank card, verify a personalIdentificationNumber, and then dispense cash, connecting to the bank’s computer system to authorize withdrawals. His patent work in the mid-1960s laid the foundations for the modern ATM, and Barclays’ first cashpoint in 1967 used this concept. The other names are famous for very different innovations—MRI, IVF, and the World Wide Web—so they don’t relate to the invention of the cash-dispensing machine.

James Goodfellow is the person behind the first practical cash-dispensing ATM. He designed a machine that could read a bank card, verify a personalIdentificationNumber, and then dispense cash, connecting to the bank’s computer system to authorize withdrawals. His patent work in the mid-1960s laid the foundations for the modern ATM, and Barclays’ first cashpoint in 1967 used this concept. The other names are famous for very different innovations—MRI, IVF, and the World Wide Web—so they don’t relate to the invention of the cash-dispensing machine.