A FORMER IBM Greenock electronics genius who invented bank cash machines has been honoured by a university.

James Goodfellow, pictured, created automatic teller machines (ATMs) used by millions of people around the world every day.

He also invented the personal identification number (PIN) for the machines.

But he didn’t make an extra penny out of it!

James was working as development engineer with Smiths Industries of Glasgow in 1965 when the security firm Chubb came to them with a job.

A bank had asked Chubb to produce a machine to be placed outside the bank that would allow customers to get cash when it was shut.

The bank wanted 2,000 machines for a million customers, but there was no network of computers, no microprocessors or integrated circuits or any methods of identifying customers so that the correct person was allowed to withdraw money.

James produced plastic punch cards with holes, and suggested a six-number PIN code.

But the bank thought customers would never be able to remember all those numbers, and wanted it reduced to four.

Machines were installed after two years of development work. Customers were given six cards that could take out a small amount each, and each card was retained by the machine so that the bank had a physical record of the transaction.

James, 77, said: “The bank didn’t trust an electronic record and wanted something in their hand. They returned the cards to the customers for re-use at the end of the month.” And, although James came up with the inventions, it was Chubb who retained the patents and made all the money out it.

The law was changed in 1977 so that employees were entitled to rewards for inventions. James asked lawyers to check if he was entitled to retrospective financial recognition, but he wasn’t.

But he said today he is philosophical about it.

He said: “The ATM and PIN were worth mega-bucks, but it never really bothered me that Chubb had the patents. I was just doing my job, and I had a good career and living from IBM, where I worked for many years.” He joined IBM in Greenock in 1967 as a test engineer and remained with them, working on projects around the world, until his retirement in 1992 from his position as engineering laboratory manager.

The University of the West of Scotland (UWS) has now honoured James with an Honorary Doctorate.

Eight years ago, his inventions earned him an OBE and in 2009 he was named a John Logie Baird Award winner for ‘Outstanding Innovation’.

Last year James was the first inductee into a prestigious Hall of Fame at America’s Harvard University. Speaking about his latest accolade, James said: “I see this as a great honour, and a particularly poignant one for me.

“I want to thank the university for granting me this accolade, and I’m extremely proud that I am a UWS Honorary Graduate.” Professor Craig Mahoney, principal and vice-Chancellor of the university, said: “At UWS we encourage our graduates to be innovators in their field, and we are delighted to have been able to honour the achievements of James Goodfellow, who is responsible for the creation of such an important innovation.” There are 2.7 million ATMs worldwide, and the PIN technology is also used in ‘point of sale’ terminals in millions of shops.

It’s estimated that James’s inventions are used for around a billion transactions each day.