From the archives: When the ATM arrived in Wilmington

Owen Hassell, Wilmington StarNews
·1 min read
Wilmington was set to have its first ATM in early 1973. At the time, it was known as an automatic cash dispenser or cash-by-card system.
Wilmington was set to have its first ATM in early 1973. At the time, it was known as an automatic cash dispenser or cash-by-card system.

Happy 50th anniversary to the ATM in Wilmington.

The Dec. 24, 1972, edition of the Wilmington StarNews reported North Carolina National Bank would bring an automated cash dispenser machine, now known as an ATM, to Wilmington by January 1973.

It was set to only give out cash in $25 or $50 increments, and a person could only use it twice a day and get no more than $100.

Michael Brown, NCNB's Wilmington city executive, explained how it worked: Withdrawing money from a checking account just as if writing a check or they could obtain a regular cash advance on their account.

You've probably seen this building in downtown Wilmington, which has been without a tenant for years. In 1971 it was the North Carolina National Bank.
You've probably seen this building in downtown Wilmington, which has been without a tenant for years. In 1971 it was the North Carolina National Bank.

According to the story, the bank became the first in North and South Carolina to provide cash for customers on a 24-hour, seven-day basis when it introduced NCNB 24 in 1972.

By the late 1990s, what was North Carolina National Bank became Bank of America, which has several Wilmington locations.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: First ATM in Wilmington arrived in 1973