Apparently at least one “major Australian financial institution” is looking to test NCR’s fancy new video conferencing Automatic Teller Machine. Aside from the usual touchscreen options, customers can be directly connected with a teller so they can ask questions about their account, and even — wait for it — organise a home loan.
Maybe one day in the future when all the big banks have pulled out of suburbs they don’t make a profit on, we’ll be forced to use virtual tellers. But that’s what my phone or computer will be for. I’m not about to sit there with my paperwork spread out while people line up for a bus behind me.
Sorry, but I call gimmick on this one. And I normally love gimmicks. [Lifehacker]