Banks first started using computers linked to telecommunications systems in a big way in the 1970s and 1980s, when local area networks allowed them to start automating accounts—and thus to introduce automatic teller machines (ATMs) which customers could use to find out how much money was in their accounts and make cash withdrawals.
With further technological advantages banks can now take ATM cards a step further— enter the smartcard, a card with a chip on it, that can store much more information on it, and do much more with this information.
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