automated teller machine
Enable an AI agent to recognise an automated teller machine, assess its ability to provide authorised self-service financial transactions, and determine which customer or maintenance actions are currently permitted.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
Researched by: Codex + Grok
Purpose and description
Enable an AI agent to recognise an automated teller machine, assess its ability to provide authorised self-service financial transactions, and determine which customer or maintenance actions are currently permitted.
A customer-operated, host-authorised cash terminal that authenticates a payment-card or account holder (typically chip-and-PIN or an equivalent credential) and dispenses banknotes from secured cassettes, and that may also accept deposits or offer other self-service account operations without a human teller.
It can be Determine whether the terminal supports a requested transaction and compatible initiation method.; Guide a customer through documented public controls without collecting a PIN, authentication token or full card details.; Assess whether a cash request is feasible using permitted denomination, availability and limit information.; Report failed cash delivery, retained media or suspected tampering to the responsible operator using non-sensitive references.; Recommend an alternative terminal when the required service or accessible interface is unavailable.; Identify the authorised replenishment, inspection or repair action associated with a reported terminal condition..
Distinguishing features
Provides a customer-operated banking transaction interface linked to an account or other authorised financial service, distinguishing it from a passive account-information display.
Has a configured cash dispensing or cash deposit function associated with financial transactions, distinguishing it from an ordinary banking kiosk; the exact inclusion boundary requires confirmation.
Operates as a dedicated self-service terminal rather than requiring a cashier to perform the transaction, distinguishing it from a teller counter or staffed cash register.
Treats cash delivery or acceptance as a financial service rather than incidental change or cashback during a retail purchase, distinguishing it from a vending machine or point-of-sale terminal.
Scope
+ Terminal identity, installation, operator and servicing relationships
+ Supported transactions and the conditions under which each is available
+ Customer authentication, interaction and accessibility interfaces
+ Cash dispensing, deposit acceptance and retained-media handling where installed
+ Terminal faults, physical security indicators and maintenance restrictions
- Customer identities, account balances and banking entitlements
- Bank ledgers, payment-network settlement and interbank reconciliation
- Banknote design, issuance and legal-tender policy
- Building-wide access control and site security operations
- Operator-wide compliance programmes and cash logistics fleets
Characteristics
- Terminal identity
- Operator-assigned terminal identifier; manufacturer, model and serial number when available Connects observations and service records to the correct physical terminal.
- Responsible organisations
- Owner, operator, acquiring institution, cash replenisher and maintenance provider, with roles distinguished Identifies who can authorise use restrictions, investigate faults or service the machine.
- Transaction capabilities
- Configured operations such as withdrawal, balance enquiry, transfer, cash deposit or cheque deposit; unsupported and unknown recorded explicitly Prevents an agent from assuming that every ATM provides the same services.
- Transaction availability
- Per operation: available, degraded, unavailable or unknown, with observation time and reason Separates installed capability from what a customer can currently use.
- Customer initiation methods
- Supported card, contactless, mobile-token or other operator-documented methods Determines whether a customer has a compatible way to start a transaction without recording credentials.
- Cash configuration
- Accepted and dispensed currencies and denominations; dispenser, deposit-only or recycling cash paths where documented Constrains which cash requests and deposits the terminal can handle.
- Cash availability and acceptance headroom
- Authorised counts by currency and denomination, or operator-reported availability bands; deposit capacity in documented units Supports transaction feasibility and replenishment decisions while allowing sensitive inventory to remain access-restricted.
- Configured transaction limits
- Currency amount, note count or item count per operation, with the responsible rule source Distinguishes terminal constraints from customer-account and issuer restrictions.
- Customer access conditions
- Accessible now, access restricted, physically obstructed or unknown; applicable opening hours and interface limitations A functioning ATM may still be unusable by a particular customer at a particular time.
- Security and service state
- Operator-reported normal, inspection required, suspected tampering, maintenance isolation or unknown Constrains customer use and service actions without treating an absence of visible damage as proof of safety.
Also called
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 6 bundles · 11 layers · 18 findings · 28 questions.
Terminal role and configuration Establishes which ATM is being observed and which financial services its installed configuration supports.
Appearance and branding alone do not establish terminal identity, responsibility or transaction capability.
Terminal identity and responsibility
Connects the physical terminal to its installation and accountable service organisations.
Identified ATM installation
Record the terminal identifier, physical location and evidence identifying its operator and service contacts.
- Which identifier and installation details distinguish this ATM from another terminal at the same site? definition
- What operator record or terminal notice establishes who handles customer incidents and machine servicing? provenance
Installed financial services
Separates supported operations from branding, assumptions and temporary availability.
Configured transaction set
Record the operations enabled for this terminal and any documented customer or network eligibility constraints.
- Which withdrawal, deposit, enquiry or transfer operations are explicitly supported by this terminal? definition
- Which restrictions originate in the terminal configuration, and which belong to the account provider or transaction network? boundary
Customer access and authorisation Describes how a customer reaches, initiates and controls an ATM session.
A transaction capability is useful only when the customer can access its interface and satisfy the applicable authorisation process.
Session initiation
Captures supported initiation methods and their documented prerequisites without storing authentication secrets.
Supported authentication paths
Record accepted initiation media and the public steps required to establish an authorised session.
- Which card, contactless or cardless initiation paths are enabled, and what prerequisites does each have? definition
- How can a customer cancel or end each supported session path, and what confirms that the session has ended? action
Usable customer interface
Captures physical access and the interface features needed to complete a transaction.
Accessibility and privacy conditions
Record site access restrictions, reachable controls, supported languages and documented visual, tactile or audio assistance.
- What observed access conditions and documented interface features affect this customer's ability to use the ATM? measurement
- Which assistance or alternative-terminal action is appropriate when the customer cannot independently operate a required control? action
Cash and media handling Describes the terminal's cash paths, transaction constraints and handling of customer media.
Cash availability, accepted items and retained media create ATM-specific limits and incident states.
Cash transaction feasibility
Relates requested cash operations to currency, denomination, inventory and acceptance constraints.
Dispense and deposit constraints
Record the documented conditions under which the terminal can dispense or accept the requested cash or deposit items.
- Which currencies, denominations, item types and per-operation limits apply to each installed cash or deposit function? definition
- What authorised evidence indicates sufficient dispensable cash or remaining deposit capacity for the requested operation? measurement
Presented and retained media
Distinguishes cash and card handling events that require different customer or operator responses.
Media disposition
Record whether cash, cards or deposit items were presented, taken, returned, retracted, retained or left in an unresolved state, where observable.
- What evidence distinguishes cash presented from cash collected, and a returned card from a retained card? measurement
- Which documented customer-support or authorised recovery action applies to retained media or an unresolved deposit? action
Transaction state and service health Connects current service availability to dependencies and distinguishes terminal events from financial outcomes.
An ATM can be partly operational, and its displayed transaction result may not settle whether an account was debited or credited.
Operation-specific readiness
Records which installed services can run under current component and external-service conditions.
Readiness and blocking dependencies
Associate each unavailable or degraded operation with a reported component fault or dependency condition and the freshness of that evidence.
- Which transactions are currently available, and when was that status last confirmed? measurement
- Which documented dependencies or component faults block each affected operation? provenance
Transaction outcome evidence
Separates customer-visible results, physical cash events and externally confirmed account outcomes.
Interrupted or disputed transaction
Record non-sensitive incident references, observed transaction stage and unresolved outcome without inferring ledger state from terminal behaviour.
- What terminal message, receipt or permitted event record supports the reported outcome? provenance
- Which outcome requires confirmation from the account provider or operator before advising a retry or treating the incident as resolved? boundary
Security and authorised servicing Defines evidence and authority needed to suspend use, inspect the ATM or restore service.
ATMs combine customer authentication interfaces and protected cash compartments, making service authority and suspected tampering central to permissible action.
Customer-facing security condition
Captures reported anomalies without claiming that visual inspection can certify the terminal as secure.
Suspected interface tampering
Record observed alterations or operator alerts affecting the card reader, keypad, cash outlet or other customer-facing components.
- What observation or operator alert supports the suspected tampering condition, and when was it recorded? provenance
- What operator-documented action should follow before further customer use? action
Service authority and return to use
Connects maintenance and cash-handling actions to authorised roles and restoration evidence.
Controlled service transition
Record the applicable service restriction, responsible authorised role and checks required before affected transactions resume.
- Which role is authorised to perform the required replenishment, retained-media recovery, inspection or repair? action
- What documented checks and operator confirmation establish that the affected services may return to customer use? provenance
Evidence and external alignment What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.
A model that cannot be lined up against existing standards, identifiers and practice cannot be adopted by anyone who already uses them.
Reported evidence
Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.
Kinds and varieties
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Cash-dispenser ATM (withdrawals and typically balance enquiry only)
- Full-function ATM (withdrawals plus deposits, transfers and related account services)
- Cash-recycling ATM (validates deposited notes and redispenses them)
- Lobby or indoor walk-up ATM
- Through-the-wall or outdoor ATM
- Drive-up ATM
- Bank-owned branded (on-us) ATM
- Independent or white-label ATM deployed by a non-bank ATM deployer
- Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of automated teller machine this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Identifiers and schemes
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Wikidata - Q81281 - Item for automated teller machine as a class of device.
- EU Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV 2008) - 30144200-2 - Automated teller machines, used in public procurement notices.
- Acquirer terminal identifier (TID) - typically an 8-digit numeric terminal ID assigned per device by the acquirer or network - Identifies the ATM as a card-accepting terminal on the payment network; not a global product code.
- PCI PTS approval number - vendor- and model-specific approval ID for the encrypting PIN pad or POI module - Names the evaluated security module, not the whole ATM as a commercial SKU.
- Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of automated teller machine this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Standards and regulation
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- ISO 8583 (ISO) - card-originated financial interchange messages used for ATM authorisation and completion.
- ISO 9564 (ISO) - PIN management and security for PIN pads on ATMs.
- EMV Integrated Circuit Card Specifications (EMVCo) - chip-card processing at ATMs.
- PCI PTS POI Modular Security Requirements (PCI Security Standards Council) - evaluation of ATM PIN-entry devices; PCI PIN security and PCI DSS also apply to the acquiring environment.
- UL 291 (UL) - automated teller systems, physical and construction requirements.
- EN 1143-1 (CEN) - burglary resistance of ATM safes.
- CEN/XFS, eXtensions for Financial Services (CEN) - vendor-independent software interface to ATM devices (dispenser, card reader, PIN pad, sensors).
- 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design (U.S. Department of Justice) - accessibility of ATMs in the United States.
- Directive (EU) 2015/2366, Payment Services Directive II (European Union) - payment-account access and cash-withdrawal services that ATM operators and card issuers sit under in the EEA.
- LINK Scheme rules (Pay.UK / LINK) - UK interbank ATM interconnection, access and (historically) interchange.
- Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of automated teller machine this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Real-world use
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Walk-up cash withdrawal at bank branches, shopping centres, petrol stations, airports, railway stations and convenience stores.
- Drive-through cash access at bank sites.
- Self-service cash and cheque deposit at branch and at some off-premise recyclers.
- Balance enquiry, intra-bank transfer, PIN change, mini-statement and prepaid top-up on many networks.
- Independent ATM deployers place white-label machines in retail for surcharge or interchange income.
- Primary remaining channel for distributing central-bank cash to the public as branch-teller volumes decline.
- Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of automated teller machine this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Typical measurements
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Notes per cash cassette - 2000-3500 - banknotes
- Cassettes per dispenser - 2-4 (some recyclers more) - cassettes
- Single-transaction withdrawal cap - highly local; often on the order of 200-3000 in the local currency's major unit, set by issuer, ATM owner and cash-in-cassette - local currency units
- Typical withdrawal session duration - 20-90 - seconds
- ATM safe burglary resistance (Europe) - CEN Grade L to IV depending on location risk - EN 1143-1 grade
- Scheduled availability target - 95-99 - percent of planned hours
- Mains supply - 100-240 - V AC
- Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of automated teller machine this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Failure modes and hazards
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Card skimming, shimming and PIN-pad overlays capturing credentials.
- Cash-trapping devices and 'Lebanese loop' retainers that steal notes or the card.
- Jackpotting malware or black-box attacks forcing unauthorised dispense.
- Physical attacks on the safe: ram-raid, cutting, gas or solid explosives.
- Cassette jams, double-picks, misfeeds and note miscounts.
- Host, network, or key-management failure taking the machine out of service.
- Card capture after PIN retries or suspected fraud, stranding the customer's card.
- Shoulder-surfing and covert cameras observing PIN entry.
- Out-of-cash or cassette-imbalance conditions causing failed withdrawals.
- Privacy and accessibility failures (readable screens, blocked approach) that exclude users or expose account data.
- Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of automated teller machine this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Regional variation
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- United Kingdom and Ireland: commonly 'cash machine' or 'hole-in-the-wall'; interconnection via LINK; distinction between free-to-use and surcharge machines.
- Canada: commonly 'ABM' (automated banking machine); Interac is the dominant domestic network.
- France: DAB (distributeur automatique de billets) for cash-out versus GAB (guichet automatique de banque) for fuller function.
- Italy and parts of continental Europe: 'Bancomat' used generically (originally a consortium brand).
- German-speaking countries: 'Geldautomat'.
- United States: off-us surcharge is common; deposit-taking at off-premise machines is less universal than in much of Europe or Japan.
- Japan: dense convenience-store ATM networks; cash recycling long established; some bank ATMs historically had restricted hours.
- India: full ATMs on the National Financial Switch coexist with handheld 'micro-ATMs' authenticated via Aadhaar, which are a distinct device class.
- Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of automated teller machine this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart
Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.
- Point-of-sale (POS) terminal - A POS terminal captures a merchant payment and does not dispense notes from ATM cassettes; any 'cashback' comes from the till.
- Teller cash recycler (TCR) - Staff-operated behind the counter to support a human teller, not a public self-service customer terminal.
- Cash deposit machine (CDM) - Deposit-only kiosk with no cash dispenser; treated as a separate class in several Asian networks.
- Bitcoin or crypto ATM - Exchanges crypto-assets and cash; it is not an issuer/acquirer ATM on card networks performing host-authorised account withdrawals.
- Night safe or deposit box - Unattended drop of cash or cheques without real-time cardholder authentication and account credit at the device.
- Self-service banking kiosk - Account or print services without a cash dispenser (and usually without an ATM-grade safe and cassettes).
- Vending machine - Dispenses goods against payment, not banknotes drawn from a customer deposit account under card-network authorisation.
- Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of automated teller machine this model covers, and on what evidence? provenance
Sources
- Automated teller machine - Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation - Common name, history, typical functions, and everyday varieties (lobby, through-the-wall, drive-up).
- ISO 8583, Financial transaction card originated messages - Interchange message specifications - International Organization for Standardization - The card-originated authorisation and financial-message format used by ATM hosts and payment networks.
- ISO 9564, Financial services - Personal Identification Number (PIN) management and security - International Organization for Standardization - PIN entry, protection and verification requirements that ATM PIN pads implement.
- EMV Integrated Circuit Card Specifications for Payment Systems - EMVCo - Chip-card authentication used by modern ATMs for cardholder verification and transaction cryptograms.
- PIN Transaction Security (PTS) Point of Interaction (POI) Modular Security Requirements - PCI Security Standards Council - Security evaluation and approval of ATM PIN-entry and encrypting PIN-pad modules.
- UL 291, Standard for Automated Teller Systems - UL - Physical construction and attack-resistance requirements for ATM assemblies in North American practice.
- EN 1143-1, Secure storage units - Requirements, classification and methods of test for resistance to burglary - Safes, ATM safes, strongroom doors and strongrooms - CEN - Burglary-resistance grades applied to ATM safes in European specification and procurement.
- 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design - U.S. Department of Justice - Reach, privacy, input and output requirements for ATMs treated as accessible public facilities in the United States.
What the second pass must settle
- Does the registry's intended ATM boundary include deposit-only terminals, teller-assisted machines and cryptocurrency cash kiosks, or are those neighbouring kinds?
- Which existing Vercy models already own terminal software, payment-network participation, accessibility requirements or cash-handling components?
- Which operator and manufacturer sources can establish configuration, event meanings and recovery procedures for a particular ATM?
- What inventory, diagnostic and incident information may each agent role access, and what freshness is sufficient for transaction or service decisions?
- Which jurisdictional and operator requirements govern accessibility, fee disclosure, retained media and disputed cash transactions for the installation being modelled?