ATMs turn 30 in July

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- The first patent on the automated teller machine is 30 this month. And what a steadfast friend it has been.

According to a story in the Charleston Post & Courier, more than half of consumers, 54 percent, visit an ATM at least weekly, with $20 to $100 withdrawals the most common activity, according to a survey timed to coincide with the machine's 1973 introduction.

ATM use jumped 64 percent from 1994 through 2002.

And consumers expect further ATM functions in the future: Half of those polled said they want to buy stamps at the machines, 48 percent would like to cash checks and more than a third, 36 percent, considered the ATM a fine potential vendor of tickets for lotteries, sporting events, concerts and the like, the story said.

The survey of 1,244 people was conducted last month for eFunds Corp., the nation's largest non-bank ATM deployer.