As reported in the Globe and Mail, Hamilton-based FirstOntario Credit has rolled-out its first personal assistance teller, or PAT, which allows customers to speak with a teller via video link at an ATM.

It's funny how the more things change the more we come back to what we like. Over the last twenty years customers have been encouraged to do their banking at the ATM, or online, which can create substantial cost savings for the banks. For those that miss the personal interaction, they can now speak with a representative one-on-one in real time. The machines can also dispense cheques, scan cheques for acceptance, and dispense coins.

The tellers who speak to the PAT customers via video are located in FirstOntario’s office in Hamilton and there’s no plans to move the staff ‘at the other end of the line’ offshore, as has been the trend with call centres. UGenius, the manufacturer of the machines, realizes this is a very sticky point with their customers in the US and Canada, and is not presenting this as part of the business model for adoption.

Although ATM’s are not VAULT’s area of focus, we have developed web solutions for bank kiosks and I do see a time when we'll be able to speak to a teller using the camera on a Blackberry or iPhone. In this scenario, the teller would be able to deposit ‘money’ on our phone and we’d pay at a store using the phone rather than a debit card or cash. I think all this will become standard in the next generation of online banking.

If you had to speak with a teller, would you use a PAT ATM machine rather than going to the teller or would you prefer a personal, 3-D interaction?