Never close again?
Q: Chemical bank installed the first ATM in the US on September the 1st of 1969 with the slogan “On September 2nd, our bank will open at 9:00 and never close again.” Is this branch of the bank still open?
The Bank That “Would Never Close Again”: Is It Still Open?
On September 1, 1969, history was made in the quiet suburban town of Rockville Centre, New York. Chemical Bank unveiled the very first automated teller machine (ATM) in the United States—a futuristic contraption known then as the Docuteller.
The following day, the bank ran a bold advertisement that promised:
“On September 2nd, our bank will open at 9:00 and never close again.”
It was more than clever marketing—it was the dawn of 24/7 banking. The ATM itself was primitive by today’s standards. Customers didn’t use plastic debit cards but instead fed the machine special paper vouchers that allowed them to withdraw $25 at a time. Still, the idea that you could get cash outside banking hours was revolutionary.
What Happened to the “Bank That Would Never Close”?
The Rockville Centre branch of Chemical Bank where that first ATM was installed is still open today.
- 📍 It’s located at 10 North Village Avenue, Rockville Centre, NY.
- 🏦 The branch has been operating there since at least the early 1960s.
- 🔄 After a series of mergers, Chemical Bank became part of JPMorgan Chase in 1996. Today, the same building is a full-service Chase branch.
In other words, the slogan wasn’t entirely wrong—the bank hasn’t closed, it just lives on under a much bigger name.
Where’s the Original ATM?
The Docuteller machine itself is no longer in use at the branch, and there isn’t a permanent display on site. But the location is officially recognized as the birthplace of the U.S. ATM.
In 2019, the branch celebrated the ATM’s 50th anniversary with a special event. Banking innovator Don Wetzel, one of the ATM’s inventors, attended alongside local dignitaries. The bank featured an interactive display charting the evolution of ATM technology, honouring the machine that changed how the world handled money.
A Lasting Legacy
So yes—the bank that declared it would “never close again” is still open, though today it carries the name JPMorgan Chase. The branch remains a living piece of financial history, where modern customers can walk through the doors—or use an ATM—at the very same spot where the United States’ banking revolution began more than half a century ago.