ATMs have been part of our lives for 50 years. But how much waste...

DISTRIBUTION OF ATMS IN ITALY

With half a century of history behind it, it has become the right tool to tell a story that concerns us all: Italy seen through electronic money. Already with the birth certificate, the ATM It certifies the existence of a dual speed, which hides much waste and many vices, both public and private: that of a world that is rushing by and that of a country that always struggles when it comes to conjugating the verb "modernize." The first ATM, the machine that dispenses the money by inserting a magnetic card inside and typing a code, it debuted in London on 27 June 1967Half a century ago, to be precise. We're in a small temple of finance, a branch of Barclays Bank in Enfield, a neighborhood north of the English capital, and a Scottish genius, James Goodfellow, invents the device that will radically change payment systems across the planet. For his patent, which few initially believed in, Goodfellow was rewarded with a bonus of 15 pounds. Nothing, but at the time, the golden age of super banking bonuses was still unimaginable. In Italy, the banking system was the notorious "petrified forest" (copyright Giuliano Amato), and so In Italy the first ATM was seen only on 23 November 1983. Sixteen years after the debut in London.

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USING ATMS IN ITALY

Over time, however, the wealthy middle class of Italy, which is very rich in private savings, has learned to use the Bancomat as an inseparable companion of the wallet and Today, 37 million Bancomat and PagoBancomat cards are in circulation in the country, with 842 million withdrawals per year, and 1,4 billion euros in payments in various shops. and stores where magnetic stripe cards are accepted. In this ever-late pursuit of modernity, the good and creative Italians, for better or worse, have made their mark. On the one hand, the vast majority of citizens (almost 80 percent) would like to pay their bills only with electronic instruments, eliminating cash, on the other hand, with ATMs alone in Italy, 21 thousand scams are counted every year.If you add to this the fraudulent use of credit cards, you get an idea of ​​the still high, very high, risk involved in the transparency of using a tool that has become as habitual as a morning coffee in our lifestyles. Amid this range of behaviors, then there are the banks that, despite the many control and guarantee authorities, they have not lost, in many, too many cases, the bad habit of fleecing customers with commissions for cash withdrawals from ATMs.

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DATA ON ATM USE IN ITALY

In conclusion: Italy of electronic money exists and resists, swerves and at most walks slow foot, while everywhere people run. Sweden e Denmark there are already two countries cashless, where cash is no longer used. Electronic financial transactions in Italy account for 38,2 percent of each citizen-consumer, compared to 97,7 percent in the rest of the European Union. This delay has a cost to the country's economic system and even to the public debt. Cash, as the Bank of Italy points out, costs €133 per capita per year, while electronic and magnetic cards cost €11. And it's a delay that smacks not only of waste, but also of corruption, tax evasion, and money laundering. Once again, Italy's great ills are seen through the lens of electronic money.

And speaking of government accounts and automatic withdrawals and payments, the term "ATM" has even entered the lexicon, and daily practice, of our shattered public finances. Even governments, the parties that support them, mayors, and local administrators have discovered the magic of the ATM, perfect, from their perspective, for financing wasteful public spending. Thus, as soon as euros need to be raised, certain fiscal instruments and sanctions are used, improperly, just like the ATM: to withdraw money, our money. Some examples? Homes, petrol, cigarettes, the fines. Here too, rather than chasing the modernityItaly has remained stuck in its oldest and most atavistic habit: making do.

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