The Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) is also known as
      Automated Banking Machine (ABM)
      Cashpoint
      Cash Machine or
      Hole in the Wall.

Before the 1970s when the banks issued customers with plastic debit cards and ATMs were widely available the only way that you could access the money in your account was by going into a bank branch to speak to a teller. However it was possible to send money by post using a cheque or a postal order so mail order thrived.

If you had a bank account you would be issued with books of blank cheques by the bank. Postal orders could be purchased at a Post Office.

The processing of paper cheques through the banking system was manual so eventually the cheques you had written out were all returned to you.

To draw cash from your account at a bank branch when it was open it was necessary to write out a cheque made out to ‘cash’ or ‘self’ and hand it to the teller.

Until 1971 you would also have to pay stamp duty when using a cheque. This was shown on the cheque with and embossed stamp typically showing two pence paid.

Cheques were not all pre-printed as crossed so if you gave or posted a cheque to somebody it was necessary to cross the cheque with two lines and to write ‘A/c Payee’ between the lines so that the cheque could only be paid into the named bank account.

Eventually cheques were pre-printed with the crossing and the words ‘Account Payee’.

Postal orders first went on sale towards the end of the 19th century. The conditions for their use were printed on the back.

When you bought a postal order at a post office it had a counterfoil which you were urged to retain. This postal order issued in 1951 during the reign of King George VI shows the poundage of one penny which was paid when purchasing the postal order in a post office.

This postal order issued in 1963 during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II shows the poundage of two pence which was paid when purchasing the postal order in a post office.

To ensure that the postal order could only be paid into a bank account it had to be manually crossed with two lines and ‘A/c Payee’ written between the lines.

Postal orders were printed in various values but if the exact value was not available it could be adjusted by affixing a postage stamp. The value of this postal order would be three shillings and nine pence.