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James Goodfellow (born 1937) is a Scottish inventor. In 1966, he patented personal identification number (PIN) technology and an automated teller machine (ATM).[1][2] He is generally considered the inventor of the modern ATM.[3][4]
James Goodfellow | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1937 (age 85-86) Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, United Kingdom |
| Nationality | Scottish |
| Known for | Inventing the PIN and modern ATM |
Goodfellow was born in Paisley, Renfrewshire,[3] where he later attended St Mirin's Academy.[5] As a 28-year-old development engineer at Kelvin Hughes, he was given the project of developing an automatic cash dispenser in 1965. His system accepted a machine readable encrypted card, with a numerical PIN keypad.[3][4] The invention received UK Patent No. 1,197,183 with a priority date of 2 May 1966.[3] In 1967, the world's first ATM was at Barclays Bank in Enfield, north London, which used a rival design by John Shepherd-Barron of De La Rue that accepted cheques impregnated with a radioactive chemical.[4][6] De La Rue did not patent the design.[4]
In 2005, Shepherd-Barron was widely reported as the inventor of the cash dispenser after he received an OBE.[3][4] This compelled Goodfellow to publicize his patent.[3] "[Shepherd-Barron] invented a radioactive device to withdraw money. I invented an automated system with an encrypted card and a pin number, and that's the one that is used around the world today," he said.[4] Despite being appointed an OBE in the 2006 Queen's Birthday Honours for his invention of the personal identification number,[7] Goodfellow has publicly commented on the lack of recognition and compensation for his inventiveness, since PIN codes are ubiquitous today.[8]
Goodfellow, a Fellow of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, was inducted into the Scottish Engineering Hall of Fame in 2016.[3] In 2011, BBC Radio Scotland broadcast Goodfellow's oral account of the history of his invention, rebroadcast in 2022.[9]
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