On April 21 1981, Standard Bank introduced 25 ATMs around Johannesburg, one of the first rollouts of ATMs by a major bank. At first the IBM 3624 ATMs operated only from 7am to 7pm, Monday to Saturday, and it took 20 seconds for a cash withdrawal, while you would have to wait 60 seconds for a balance inquiry. Thirty-seven years later there are considerably more ATMs around the country, but you can also do your banking at any time on any day on just about any device — while online or on an app on your phone or even while on social media, all within seconds. Those ATMs could be considered an early form of fintech; a bank spokesperson told the Rand Daily Mail at the time that they would ultimately perform 90% of teller duties. The introduction of ATMs were a disruptor, shifting customers from the bank to outside where they engaged with technology to get their money that before would have been accessed from inside the branch. Recently, a similar shift has taken hold as South African bank...
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