Human ATMs?
This month, as we focus on all types of money matters here at the Toronto Public Library, it's always fun to see what else is going on in the sphere of money and technology.
Personal finance will be getting pretty personal if Apple has anything to say about it. If it all works out, a new US Apple patent will have people connecting through an app
on their smartphones to dispense cash to others in need. Wait – what?
Meeting up with total strangers and giving them your hard-earned loonies
and toonies? (You can probably keep your pennies though.)
Here's a quick run-down:
Imagine
you're stuck somewhere that only takes cash. You could probably wander
outside and find a BMO or TD branch somewhere, but the closest one is
still a trek away and your frozen toes are begging you not to. Instead,
you can click into this app and put out a request for cash: you indicate
the amount of cash you'd need and your location is tracked by GPS.
Theoretically, some kind soul nearby (who is also using the app, of
course) accepts your request. This would be someone who has some extra
cash on hand and doesn't mind giving it you. You meet up and get your
money – and the amount you borrowed is credited back to the lender's
iTunes account.
Of course, the potential convenience of all
this doesn't come without a price to pay. For their trouble, lenders
take a small cut (ie. a service fee) and Apple takes its share too.
After all is said and done, a person borrowing from a 'human ATM' can
pay around 16% in fees alone. Sounds ridiculous? Think of all the
dollars you've probably spent on bank fees all in the name of
convenience and suddenly you can kind of see why someone in need might
just suck it up and do it.
As intriguing as the concept of this app is, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about it. What do you think?
Would you be willing to be a human ATM? Or would you meet up with
somone you didn't know to get money from them? I don't know for sure if
this will end up going into use (in Canada or at all) but it will be
interesting to see how this affects banking and ATMs. I'm one of those
people that never has cash (seriously; I've bought a pack of gum using
debit!) so the idea of having money available almost literally anywhere is kind of appealing – but issues of security are also on my mind.
Think you could come up with some unique ideas for apps yourself? Check out some resources at the library like App Empire (ebook only) or Get Rich with Apps.
2 thoughts on “Human ATMs?”
16 percent is only comparable to an ATM transacton if you’re borrowing between $10-20. ATMs generally charge a set fee plus another set fee if you’re not using your own bank’s machine. I’ve not seen higher than 2.50 for the latter. If you need $200 that’s $32 just for the transaction! A transaction which is going to take a lot longer than going to an ATM and making the return trip because you have to wait for the lender to show up. You know what they say about a fool and his money.
Very true – I don’t think I’d bother waiting around for someone to get cash from only to have to pay that much in ‘fees’! But, I always imagine there’s a market for everything…!