Madam, – I commend the Friends of the Elderly for their suggestion that banks provide options for customers to donate to charities via ATMs (Home News, January 4th).
For decades we have had to endure poorly written ATM software. ATMs ask: “Do you want a receipt?” “Yes.” “Sorry, we don’t have any receipts – do you want to continue?”! ATMs that offer suggested fixed sum amounts only to advise upon request that a denomination it just offered is in fact unavailable. ATMs that demand an amount to be entered that is divisible by 20, but then when asked for 70 or 90 subsequently relents and releases the €50 note that it had appeared to want to keep for itself.
It would be great if the option to offer charitable donations were implemented and at the same time the programmers took the opportunity to start to realise the unlimited potential of these humble machines.
Based on past experience, however, it is difficult to be optimistic that they will improve these Awfully Thick Machines. – Yours, etc,