It’s that time of year – back to ATM cards...

Paging through my latest bank statements online, I am reeling at the sticker shock from participating in the festive season. Like many of you, it’s a case of what happened? Was that dinner at my steakhouse really that expensive? And, did I buy my granddaughter a car – she’s only two? I work diligently to maintain good credit ratings and am judicious with my use of credit cards, juggling as I am between what can legitimately be charged to business and what constitutes a personal expense.

Hybrid architecture for ATM networks: It’s music to a CIO's ears!

Asked who he listens to, Eric Clapton once replied, 'JJ Cale', and in later years these maestro musicians teamed to transform numerous well-known songs in a way few would have thought possible (check out their medley of 'After Midnight' and 'They Call me the Breeze'). Even now, I can tell it's JJ Cale playing a tune on the radio after just a couple of picks — he was that good.

I wish this were true with ATMs. If every financial transaction had an audio track, I could tell within just a few 'notes' whether it’s routing my personal information via a NonStop system. The folks at HPE tell me that in America the chances of my ATM transaction not passing through at least one NonStop is really slim. But being able to identify the systems involved would satisfy any uneasy feelings I might have about who else might be 'listening in' on my transaction.