PASSING OF BANK CLERK.

Waikato Times, Volume 105, Issue 17752, 2 July 1929, Page 11

PASSING OF BANK CLERK.

INFALLIBLE MACHINES. (From a Correspondent.) LONDON, May 9. Clerical work in all the great banks of the oountry is to be reduced to a minimum by the introduction of wonderful accountancy machines which, it is claimed, cannot make a mistake. Two of the great British banking corporations have already decided on complete mechanisation of their accountancy systems (says the Daily Express) and it is practically certain that the rest of the “Big Five” will follow suit in the immediate future. Every stage of clerical work, from the moment a customer presents a cheque to the Anal balancing of the 'bank’s general ledger, is now being turned over-to various types of new. machines. When the system is univer-: sally adopted—and banking experts are; -unanimous that this is bound to happen —the bank clerks of past generations will disappear anil machine hands J will take their places. Robot Clorks. The new maohlnes are so efficient and fool-proof that the Midland Bank ,1s gradually Installing them in all its branches, and the Westminster Bank has them In operation at its Oxford Street (London), Leicester,’and Manchester Corn Exchange, offices, and has placed an order for £IOO,OOO worth of the machines to be installed In its branches throughout the country. These robot bank clerks have been .found to be infallible. A customer’s balance is automatically calculated and printed by the machines as each item is entered, and it is impossible for an overdraft to escape attention. As soon as the account is overdrawn the machine automatically lodks itself, and the amount of the deficit is printed in red ink when the lock is released. Bank clerks are naturally apprehensive. The introduction of the new .machines opens up the prospect of wholesale unemployment. “Two girls ..easily perform the work of five or six men with the help of the machine," ■said the secretary of the Bank Officers’ •Guild, in an interview. "We cannot tell what will happen when mechanisation is general.” Eliminate Error. “The machines are wonderful. I was going to say that they are nearly human, but in point of fact they are superhuman.' They eliminate the human element of error. They simply cannot make mistakes. The Midland “Bank already has a considerable sur-: plus of staff as a result of the adoption of mechanical methods. It has always •been a tradition that once a man was appointed to the staff of a bank ho was never dismissed except for some 'serious cause. We cannot say whether that will continue to be the case. We • a fc watching:’ developments with anxiety.”. The change over at the Westminster Bank is said.to be the most complete mechanisation ever attempted by any business organisations in the world. ■The netfv system frees cashiers of much of the Routine work with which they ‘were formerly burdened, and leaves them free to give their undivided attention to customers. The old-fashioned pass-book will soon be a relic of. the past. Customers ’will be provided instead with a leather- • bound, loose-leaf book, and a sheet setting out a statement of their accounts will be issued daily, weekly, or monthly, or as required