Automation in Banking

It has been estimated that the Apollo Program, which placed a man on the moon, each year produced enough paper work, that if put on one stack, would reach to the moon. The forthcoming Space Shuttle Program will require even more documentation; however, present plans call for very little paperwork. The necessary documentation will instead be created, updated and retained in a large computer data base with access throughout the country. Present technology will support this system. The banking industry has been faced with a similar problem in the processing of demand deposit records (checks) and other repetitive tasks. Banks have made progress in automating certain tasks, but up to this date, theystill have a paper intensive system. Present technology would support a new system centered around large computer data bases. Any computer system that would service fourteen thousand banks and processes twenty-two billion checks annually would be a significant event in the electronic data processing industry. It might also effect the way business is done in this country. This paper was undertaken to explore the progress in bank automation and how it will effect the banking industry, the electronic data processing industry and the average citizen.