Alastair Kydd Hanton (10 October 1926 – 26 May 2021) was a British banker, civil servant, transport campaigner, and social entrepreneur who invented the direct debit system in 1964.
After graduating, 22-year-old Hanton joined the newly founded government overseas aid organisation, the Colonial Development Corporation, in 1948, and after two years at head office in London, he was posted to Malawi to plan public works.[7][8]
Hanton left Rio Tinto after four years to help found the new National Giro in 1968, retiring from the organisation in 1987.[8]
Direct debit
Direct debit was invented by Alastair Hanton while he was working at Unilever as a way of collecting payments more efficiently from Wall's ice cream sellers.[5][6] Originally named automatic debit transfer, it commenced operation, as a paper-based system, in 1964,[2] becoming widely available from 1968.[1]
"I began with the name automatic debit transfer (ADT) and then during the discussion we shortened that… direct debit was, well, more direct…"
↑Merritt, A. J.; Sykes, Allen (1963). "Acknowledgements". The Finance and Analysis of Capital Projects. Wiley. p.IX. ISBN978-0-471-59615-8. We should like to thank Jack Bennett of the Standard Oil Company (New Jersey) and Alastair K. Hanton of Unilever Ltd., with whom a number of the more complex topics in the book have been fruitfully discussed."{{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
↑"Business appointments". The Times. No.61, 132. 15 January 1982. p.12. Mr Alastair Hanton has been appointed deputy managing director of National Girobank. He was formerly senior director.
↑Prestridge, Jeff (19 June 2021). "A warm farewell...". Mail on Sunday. At National Girobank ... Hanton was also instrumental in establishing a cash machine network (now known as Link) that customers of all banks could use to withdraw cash free of charge.
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