Bold banking reforms

Japan is a country that has thoroughly embraced the comforts and convenience which modern life and technology provide. Everyone has at least one mobile phone, with email and internet browsing capabilities to keep in constant contact. Every block in the bigger cities has at least one convenience store, and if they don't, there is at least one vending machine. Trains, though overcrowded to a bone-crushing degree during the morning rush, run every few minutes and go nearly everywhere. This is why ATMs are so confusing.

ATMs in Japan are everywhere, making their access convenient. However, unlike the all night convenience store in which you will almost inevitably find an ATM, the machines shut down from time to time. The downtime is not caused by a computer or mechanical malfunction, but rather because that is the way the banks operate them. ATMs also have holidays off. To their credit the banks have managed to keep their ATMs open past the normal 9-3 banking hours, though some of the normal functions of the machines are restricted. The lack of service on holidays, according to one bank employee, is in case their is a chance of the ATM malfunctioning, leaving the impression that there is normally a crack squad of ATM service technicians on standby, waiting nervously to receive a call that an ATM is down and in need of immediate assistance -- but only during normal hours.

One bank is throwing such caution to the wind and has launched an aggressive ad campaign promoting a revolutionary service in Japanese banking -- the 24-hour ATM. This is a giant step forward for banking here. Unfortunately, the service is only available to this particular bank's customers. There is no system, such as one might expect from ATMs that can be used (during normal banking hours) to do everything from cawithdrawalswls to restructuring government debt, to allow customers of other banks to use the facilities. This will doubtless only be overcome after years of research and debate regarding how to get the other banks' ATMs to stay awake all night. During the day (except holidays) transferring funds between banks using only one ATM card and one machine can be accomplished relatively easy, and the ATMs in convenience stores accept just about every bank's card. But the machines get tired and have to rest at night and on holidays.

Perhaps this singular bank has launched this bold new service in an attempt to attract customers who may find it convenient to be able to access cash after 8:00 p.m. Or perhaps it is a reflection of their customers expressing their desires and having the bank respond to them. Or perhaps this new service is simply an indication that these particular ATMs don't have quite the union the others do.