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This isn’t an iron box. Why Alfa-Bank needs a transparent ATM
Alfa-Bank presented an unusual transparent ATM on May 12 by posting a message on its Telegram channel. “Yes, it is in earnest transparent. You can see everything: how the coolers spin, how the coolant gurgles, how the slip is printed. Money alone is invisible - banking secrecy,” the bank said in a statement. According to Alexander Leshchev, the main idea was to show such a device from a slightly different angle - not just like an iron box that dispenses cash.
“We began to think about what in general could be done with an ATM,” he said. “We didn’t want to involve the modules, since it would be too complicated and affect the functionality. But we wanted to play around with the exterior.
Alfa-Bank began working on the idea at the end of 2021, sending inquiries to a number of creative agencies. One of the received options was a transparent ATM proposed by the Balagan creative agency. The physical embodiment of an unusual device was implemented together with GRG Banking, a Chinese ATM developer.
“They fully supported us - they assigned a dedicated engineer who helped us with this task,” Alexander Leshchev continued. “In parallel, we experimented with several machines so that we could repaint parts and immediately put them into the main device so as not to waste time.” It was decided that the safe itself, of course, should not be transparent, while the space around it definitely can. The innovation required coordination with banking security services – and they finally concluded that such a device carries no risks for the bank and customers.