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The Network Becomes the Core of the ATM

Chapter 5 (‘The Network Becomes the Core of the ATM’) traces the emergence of proprietary ATM networks and the formation of shared networks in the USA, Canada, and Britain. The formation of these networks bears witness to the transformation of the ATM and other forms of applications of computer technology from a potential source of competitive advantage to a minimum requirement for competition in retail banking. Detailed examples of all three countries exemplify alternative network configurations. These, in turn, help to illustrate different competitive strategies to implement technological change as well as show that the competitive transformation of the ATM was neither inevitable nor poised to follow a single path of development. The role of standards and particularly the encoding of messages communication between the ATM and the bank’s computer centre come to the fore. These help to elucidate some of the technological challenges of the 1980s.