Looking for the 'MAC' Machine

[Wembley]

If anyone asks for the "Green Machine", they're talking about Toronto Dominion Bank's ATM, and the "Johnny Cash" is Canada Trust's ATM. Of course, the 2 institutions have merged, with both terms falling out of favour long before the merger.

Around here at the Strafford Bank... I mean, Bank of New Hampshire... I mean BankNorth... I mean TD Bank, (lol) they just installed new "Green Machine" stickers and signs all over their ATMs. I thought they had become just another "no name" ATM like you see in convenience stores (the kind that charge you $3 to take out $20) until I saw them at the actual TD bank locations too.

Talk about confusing! Oh and I remember the MAC advertisements too from years ago "more than just an ATM" or something.

-Wembley (who still remembers his first ATM card!)

[mikoyan29]

Way back when, there were many networks that didn't talk to each other. My bank, and many others in New York, were on the NYCE (New York Cash Exchange) network, but if you went to Jersey you found only MAC machines and no NYCE ones, in which my card wouldn't work. Citibank had their own network that didn't interoperate with any other bank's; in another area you had CIRRUS machines, and so forth. I think NYCE and CIRRUS merged at some point, which necessitated my changing my 7-digit PIN to a 4-digit one. Nowadays every card works on every machine, but for some years, if you were traveling out of state, you often had to drive around for quite a while before you found a machine that took your card.


ATM is just generic for Automated Teller Machine (so "ATM-machine" is as redundant as "PIN-number". Grr.)

I remember those days. I forget what machines I had to find but it was tough when I travelled out east.

At least she didn't call it the ATMirola....

[Boozy]

MAC machine? That's olde-tymey.

Reminds me of the time that my grandparents sent me grocery shopping for them. They wrote "quart of milk" on their list. Americans will know exactly what they meant, but Canada switched to metric in 1970. So Canadians my age don't usually know what "quarts" are.

I bought a two-litre jug. Apparently a quart is about half that. My grandmother just laughed about it, but Gramps could not believe that I didn't know what a quart was.

All the store employees were my age or younger, so they were of no help. "What the hell is a quart?", they'd say, scratching their heads.

[ExHDCashier]

I always call it a MAC machine... never call it ATM.. I guess thats just what Im used to.

[Food Lady]

Am I the only one who read the title & pictured some kind of makeup vending machine?

[1756GR2]

I recall MAC machines about 15-20 years ago. A lot of us still call them that just out of habit. 'Course, I'm less than an hour north of Mad Mike, so it could've been a fairly local thing.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

I remember Tyme machines!

That, along with "bubbler," unquestionably identifies one as being from Wisconsin.

[Amina516]

I still call them MACs....

[ShetenshiSenshi]

I probably would have told them that we don't sell computers. People need to learn the terminology of the time they are living in currently, and get their asses out of the stone age!!

[Becks]

That, along with "bubbler," unquestionably identifies one as being from Wisconsin.

Every time I said "bubbler" while I was in NJ, everyone in earshot looked at me funny.

[Soulstealer]

Am I the only one who read the title & pictured some kind of makeup vending machine?

Actually I thought McDonalds had raised their standards on how they made 'food'.

[Wenchie]

I remember Tyme machines!

Eek! My a$$hole ex called them that... stupid bad memories. LOL

[Wenchie]

That, along with "bubbler," unquestionably identifies one as being from Wisconsin.

Yup.... ex was from WI. Used both of those. He lives in Chicago now and he looks at people in a condescending way when they don't understand "Tyme Machine" and "Bubbler." *sigh* Many reasons he's an ex...