Have you seen the commercial where a guy walks up to a Chase ATM and deposits a check (sans deposit envelope) and then it prints an image of his check on the receipt? (He also deposits his buddy's $20 bill, but I'm less impressed with that.) Ever since I saw that commercial for the first time, I have been longing for an opportunity to try out that technology. How does the ATM know the amount that the check is for? Does it use handwriting recognition? What if your handwriting is really bad?
Tammy mailed me a check for her share in a group Christmas gift, and it so happens that I had a WaMu account back in my Mary Kay days, and I keep it around for the express purpose of running checks, and Chase bought WaMu, so voila, perfect opportunity! I had no idea it would turn into a technology-driven odyssey.
I'm on vacation today, which means I'm loose in the city during banking hours, which almost never happens. I point that out now just so you'll know that at any point during this odyssey, I could easily have gone through the drive through and just deposited the check the normal way with the vacuum tube and such. Let's call it determination (because stubbornness sounds a little negative.)
Before I left the house, I looked up the closest Chase ATM online - perfect - there's one in the same shopping center as PetsMart, which I also need to stop at.
Chase ATM #1 (in the PetsMart shopping strip): completely out of order. All it will display is the completely out of order screen.
Bummer. Okay, no problem, I have an iPhone which means I carry the whole internet around with me in my purse. I tell iPhone Maps "find me a Chase ATM". Since the Chase/WaMu merger, there are a crazy amount of ATMs - like 10 in a five mile radius of my house.
Chase ATM #2 (across FM 529 from the Target): works, but is displaying a message about not being able to print receipts. Getting the receipt with the image of your check on it is the coolest part about the new ATMs, so I pass on that one.
iPhone Maps, "find me another Chase ATM". It tells me to go the other way on FM 529 and I'll find another one.
Chase ATM #3: I can't find it. It's possible that it's inside a ghetto looking convenience store. Part of the point of this is to deposit the check without leaving the car.
Okay, iPhone Maps, don't feel bad. That was user error. I was not specific enough with my search parameters. I tell it "find me a Chase Bank and ATM" instead of just an ATM. I backtrack to Hwy 6 and head north.
Chase ATM #4: Is old and decrepit and doesn't do the cool new envelope-less deposits.
At this point, I'm starting to get a little peeved, but it's a beautiful day, and I've got nothing but time, and hey, iPhone Maps says there is another Chase ATM two blocks away.
Chase ATM #5: Success! It has a touch screen, is in working order, and is able to print receipts. This ATM technology is the coolest thing EVER!
But now I'm thinking iPhone Maps could use an upgrade. If it's smart enough to tell me the locations of all the Chase ATMs, why can't it tell me which ones are actually working?
