Huntington Bank was on the cutting edge of the banking industry when it introduced Personal Touch video-banking machines in 1994. Though the concept didn’t seem to catch on, it was heralded at the time as an innovative method of banking that allowed customers access to services that normally required a trip to a bank branch. Among the services: making withdrawals and deposits by talking to a teller via a video screen.
Customers weren’t the only ones to benefit from the new technology. Non-customers could apply for a loan or credit card using one of the machines, which were manufactured by AT&T Global Solutions.
Ike Stage, the bank’s executive vice president at the time, said the image of the teller was less than ideal but the point was to add a human element to automatic banking.
“No matter how sophisticated technology is, people want to default to a human being,” he said.
Huntington also was one of the first banks to offer 24-hour toll-free banking. The service was introduced in 1992. Forty tellers were available during the day and two at night.
The bank also came up with a concept called the Smart Phone. It would have allowed customers to access a teller via a video phone with the touch of a button. The service was highly touted in 1994, but AT&T had problems manufacturing the equipment and the long-delayed project never got off the ground.
— Susan Stonick