Because most things transactional today appears to be point, or touch, and click, with seamlessly invisible connections underpinning, it is difficult to explain the strange banking and payments world that existed before ATM's and everything since, to anyone who is quite young.

In the late 1970's, when I took my meagre pay or scholarship cheque to the bank, there were procedures in place that had to be followed for the objects in hand to be duly banked. I had to fill out deposit forms, together with any withdrawals I wanted to make (separate form), then stand in a line and wait for the teller.

Once at the teller (a highly regarded figure in those days) friendly chit-chat would usually ensue, before, after the stamping of documents, the careful entry of figures, the sliding of the till drawer and the crisp counting of bills produced a handing over of the readies, together with the passbook. The latter was updated on every visit and occasionally, interest would accrue.

Banking was a social activity and actually something I looked forward to. You met people, you talked with people, you caught up. You also had to be careful, because every Friday afternoon, at the bank, I would have to calculate how much cash I would need for the weekend (not having a credit card). Was I going to a movie or out to dinner? Did I want to go Saturday morning shopping? How about petrol? When girlfriends came along it became even more complicated. But I suspect we all managed and it did teach a basic money lesson.

Of course, the advent of ATM's en masse seemed like a miracle at the time and ushered in a new age of convenience. Anything new means something old is lost and so it has been with the banks. Widely regarded now as greedy and duplicitous, the institution has suffered much from the "need" to rationalize, to close branches, sack staff and push people towards a cashless society. Oh that it were otherwise.