Super Nintendo's Online Banking From 1998 | TranDirect Home Banking System - Retro Gaming History!
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- Опубліковано 2 лют 2025
- In 1998, a Canadian Company named TranDirect created and an online home banking cartridge for the Super #Nintendo and tried to sell it to banks. Oddly enough, this was their SECOND online banking program for a 90s video game console as they had successfully sold and released similar software for the Amiga CD32 in 1994.
Although it was never released, TranDirect did leave us with a 5 minute long mini-infomercial and tidbits of information for those willing to do a little bit of research.
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#RETROGAMING #supernintendo #snesonline #90sgaming #the90s #nostalgia
You can find the full Trandirect Home Banking System Promo Video on my second channel here: ua-cam.com/video/uEp6hArsjZY/v-deo.html
I wanted to upload a copy of it to make sure it wasn't lost. The original was posted by E. John Love, who worked on the GUI, and it can be found here: ua-cam.com/video/XqmwZwJp_8Y/v-deo.html
If you'd like to see a comedic take on this you can find Chadtronic's video here: ua-cam.com/video/3Bn7Ojoy0GY/v-deo.html
You can try out the Amiga CD32 interactive demo here: web.archive.org/web/19970707214908/www.tvinet.com/tvi/
Wrestling With Gaming dude your content is so good I love seeing these things I never would’ve thought could exist being real life business endeavors
Thank you. Could you also upload a copy to the Internet archive please?
@@tmack729 There's already a copy of it there.
@@crustman5982 thanks! This is definitely one of the more obscure SNES things I know of.
@@WrestlingWithGaming ah, sorry I didn't check. Thank you!
You can rob the banks with a game shark
hahha! That would be a hell of a cheat code!
Ahem..game genie.
Lol. This makes my day. Nailed it. Now where's that Game Genie cartridge and start cranking some codes. 😁😂🤣
I was wondering something similar watching this myself. With the Amiga one being a real product, connected to a real (primitive service), I wonder if there could have been some way to overflow or underflow the system and transfer funds from non-existent (or even existing) accounts that didn't belong to you. Fuzzing this would have been extremely fun but also probably a quick way to get you the Kevin Mitnick special.
@@ApexHardcore It would be very crazy if that were possible. With applications like this, all the actual work is done remotely. The software/hardware controlled by the user is just an interface, it can't actually do anything except make requests and display info sent to it by the bank.
While mistakes are sometimes made, banks are *extremely* paranoid, even in 1998.
Me: *Buys Nintendo switch*
Amazon: Credit/Debit card or COD?
Me: *pays using SNES banking cartridge*
I have never heard of this, learn something new everyday.
And the crazy thing is that there's still more obscure stuff like this from the 90s that a ton of us, myself included, still don't know about.
Reminds me of the GameBoy powered sewing machine
@@WrestlingWithGaming Think of that decade as the Cambrian Explosion of software - though it seems to do a variation every decade.
I was an employee of TVI back in the day and because I was the only one with any film/video background (and because I was the in-house technical writer, too), I got to write, direct, and produce those promos. (But, don't worry. You'll get no static regarding copyright from me. Frankly, I don't think anyone much cares at this point.) That was the only time I got paid to do such work and I'm grateful to have had the chance. It was a blast.
This was one of the most niche things you have ever found and done videos on. It is amazing how “futuristic” how these ideas were back then and how now we can do pretty much all of our banking off of a device straight from our pockets.
Yeah, I think this one is up there as far as unknown gaming oddities.
@Jean Phil You must have pretty big pockets.
In Japan there was Famicom based horse betting and banking hardware/software, but I never knew this was being tried out in North America.
Makes sense, though - It’s a computing device already connected to a television with a game pad. They could do a lot worse.
You don’t see online banking, etc apps on consoles today, though. 😁
Ah yes, the Famicom Network Network System. I did a video on that one a couple of years ago. Real interesting piece of hardware.
I'm going to ask my landlord if they accept rent payments via SNES.
My freaking landlord still will only accept paper checks or cash
@@NathanLJustice mine only takes money order
my landlord accepts snes payments, I get printed receipts from a gameboy printer
I am living for the music in that TranDirect tape. It’s at least 10 years out of time and it’s perfect.
Had never heard of this thing at all, another great informative video! Great work!
Thanks! It's funny, a lot of people are digging the music in it. I thought I'd be the only one lol
Dad: dude, you're getting a...
Son: ..Dell?
Dad: no, better! A SNES home banking cartridge!
What child wouldn't want their parents taking up their Super Nintendo to do some serious banking? lol
But dad i wanna play with my super nintendo.
Sorry son got some banking to do.
Larry "Hey babe! just doing my bankin' on mah supa nintendoro"
LOL. You could see the love in here eyes when he logged on.
I can just imagine it. Kid: "Come on Dad, I want to play Mario" Dad: "Hang on, I'm trying to keep the lights on"!
With the gameboy printer, you can print our your withdraws.
You'd need a japanese Super Game Boy 2 to do this.
"Updates quickly and easily!"
Shows a guy copying something from a PC to a server with a floppy disk
The 90s were magical!
Hey, maybe he walks that disk over to the server very briskly!
Sorry, but what do you expect?
Nope. That server was being updated with a new version of some module. When a user logged in with the snes, and there were modules with a version that was newer than the user's last login, the server would tell the snes cart to mark the outdated modules as "old" and if the cart needed to use the module, the cart would download that module.
Basically a virtual memory system with a LRUreplacement system.
That was the design, anyway,
Most excellent video Sir!!! I do find it fascinating all these '90s devices that let you bank, bet on horses and read emails, still don't exist on modern consoles, despite it being incredibly easy to do so with a simple app.
But I suppose smart phones choked that potential market and you can "sort of" do it on console web browsers.
Thanks Larry! Yeah, it's interesting that these companies tried to do stuff that really stretched the limits of the hardware available then and now not so much.
@@WrestlingWithGaming Indeed, it's quite admiral the risks they took to create new hardware, even going all in on some occasions. Why I love the '90s so much.
They've got to be hiding somewhere around vancouver.
Bc hydro and vancity bank were examples.
Oh my god, an SNES controller with a QWERTY keyboard.
I believe that this controller can also double as a weapon.
I dunno where u come up with these niche products, almost every video is about something I had no clue existed! That TransDirect promo video is pure 90s nostalgia. "internet mail". Beautiful.
It's the most popular use for the internet! 😆 When I started the channel I made a list with bunch of well-known and obscure stuff I wanted to do videos on. I think I first heard about this when I started looking into the Amiga version years ago.
You always produce such high quality content, this was extremely interesting. BTW, Your video on X-Band was phenomenal
Thanks a bunch. I appreciate the kind words and you taking the time to watch!
Always good to see your unique videos on subjects lot of people don't know about. Its been a while but, love the video man!
Thanks for creating this video. I was on the design team at TVI (and an actor in that video). You were much kinder to our product than some other commentators ;) These were leading-edge for consumers in the 90s, way before internet banking was a thing.
Hey there, thanks for watching! I loved the video that you guys put together. It's 100% perfect for the 90s. I only wish the product and controller had been made available so that I could try it out first hand.
I think some other channels that have covered it have been on the younger side and don't realize how forward thinking this and your other internet banking products were.
But MY part ended up on the cutting room floor :)
another great video about a rare device ive never heard of. you really are a great creator, Yahel . Always look forward to your quality content
Thanks a lot, I appreciate it!
Old enough to remember here and I got a kick out of the "email is the most popular use of the internet" part, not any more 😄
Kid: Dad! I wanna play Super Mario World!
Dad: Not now son! I'm checking my bank account!
I always use my SNES to store my Bitcoin and Ethereum
Im using this. Needs more likes
Excellent. Why people were robbing Mt gox OP's assets were sitting pretty on snes 👍
Dad walks in room: “son, our dial up quit working on the computer, imm ganna half to ask you to stop playing “doom” and give me your SNES”. “You can play “doom” on my computer mmmmmmmkay”.
The snes port impressive, but shitty at the same timd
"I guess you guys arent ready for that...but your kids are gonna love it."
given the timeframe of -98 they probably had some type of softmodem and rj11 jack in the cart. SNES had a proprietary expansion port but it wouldn't have made sense to use it for single application device since cartridge port already gets full access to CPU address/data bus
Love the quality of content you put out, please keep up the good work
Thanks, appreciate you taking the time to watch.
Ahh.. the 90s... what a time to be alive!
Nice to see you back with some new videos! This proves a belief I have always had that old tech finds some purpose 👍
Your links to those videos are the Christmas gift that will keep on giving year after year! Bless you!
I think that is was rather ambitious for Trandirect to attempt this back in the late 90s due to the lack of infrastructure of the internet at the time. It was definitely a different time back then and odds are it would not have gotten too far back then. Good for them for trying and man that couch just screams 90s. :)
Awesome video man. I like these topics that were ahead of their time!
Thanks man! I've been looking forward to doing this one.
Canada was using the same satellite Japan was using called "satellview". That's how they were able to make transactions via satellite.
Another awesome video!
Thanks!
Thanks for surfacing this. This is a real piece of history I never knew about!
Thanks man. It's a pretty obscure one for sure.
Man and here I thought I was a game expert. What a genuine and genius idea! I guess you really learn something every day...
This reminds me so much of “Halt and Catch Fire”. A mining company with more money than it knows what to do with, and a bunch of flashy technology. Insane things happen when those things mix.
Great video, as always! We should be putting your channel in the congressional archives
Thanks 😀
Wow... thank you for uploading this. Greetings from Germany.
Wish I worked in the office in the 90's that had this technology.
Whenever the boss left the office, I would've organized Street Fighter tournaments with co-workers.
The Super Nintendo seems like it would've been an odd choice for a home banking system in 1998, considering the SNES was near the end of its life. The Nintendo 64 would've made more sense, but even then, I don't know if banks would've been on board with the idea, considering Nintendo consoles were viewed as more of a toy.
Exactly.
Large install base, however
But the N64 had no existing users (since it wasn't out yet) and would have cost more. The SNES could be had for $50, millions already had one, and it was familiar.
I spent so much time on gamefaqs and youtube just looking at obscure and old gaming stuff that it really is quite magical to find something I never heard about once. Banking on your SNES?! HA very well done video man. Keep up the continued great work!
Thanks! This is definitely one of the more obscure snes things imo.
It doesn't look like they're actually plugging a phone line in at all. They were probably given a demo cartridge with no modem and just told to pretend like they're plugging a phone line into it.
Maybe the reason we never see the actual modem is that it never got made. The ads might have used regular SNES cartridges, while the product would have used ones with a modem.
Wow, not only is this something I've never heard of this is something I never even thought of existing. Stuff like this is why I'm subscribed. Keep up the good work Yahel!
Thanks a lot! This is definitely one of the more obscure things I know of for the Super Nintendo.
@@WrestlingWithGaming I'd go as far as saying it's probably one of the most obscure things I know of for any system. More so than the Famicom modem, the Exercycle, or the Gameboy Sonar for sure.
I wish you would upload more often. Your content is top notch.
Thanks! I'm gonna try to get stuff out more frequently this year for sure.
I love the new music, very 80's and very nice.
Wrestling with Gaming is an incredible channel.
Thanks!
"Email is by far the most popular use of internet"
Always looking forward to your next video. Great work!
Thanks!
I love videos like this. You really make some great content, thanks for sharing!
Thanks!
As always, great topic selection and attention to detail
Thanks, glad you liked it!
Yo!!! I swear , and I took screenshots to prove it. I clicked play on THIS video and it started playing jingle bells and it played a video of a kid learning how to ski in So Cal . It had these comments , your thumbnail, this videos title, everything. I clicked back and then reselected it and it played properly . But man that was crazy !!!
Wow I never heard of this thing. I wonder how much other non-gaming stuff was on the SNES, I know there was a bunch on the famicom as it was marketed like a family computer in Japan. I bet someone could have made a home automation cart for the SNES as well. Imagine turning the lights on and off, or switching on the stereo.
I would have loved being a fly on the wall during the meeting when this was pitched.
I can image that the security around this would of been extremely poor
Drunken FPV that was my first thought. Probably zero encryption on this.
Stephen Gregson I am guessing it is why it was not released. I could be wrong
It was a direct line through a dialup connection. The changes of anyone hacking that are slim to nil.
p0llenp0ny it’s not all about data interception. There were plenty of direct dial services in the day compromised
@@SalivatingSteve Nope we had encryption!. I wrote triple DES in assembly and was working on RSA. We were planing on using elliptic curves at some point also :)
This video was very interesting and informative thank you so much for uploading it on here Yahel. Keep up the good work sir. 🙂👍🏻
Haven't seen a vid from you in a while! I admire your research and subjects.
Thanks. I actually uploaded two this month. UA-cam just isn't notifying people lol. Uploaded one two weeks ago and another about two months before that.
@@WrestlingWithGaming yeah ive heard of the infamous "algorithm". I'll make sure i look you up a little more. Thank you!
The 90s were magical. I wouldn’t even think of banking on my PS4 now.
yep
Why not? Most people bank on their smart phones. Not a stretch to add a banking app on the PS4. I already use the PS4 to buy games directly through the Playstation Store, using my debit card. So some financial information is already going through the system.
Ryan Peck that’s exactly why, there are so many other ways to do it. Back in the day there was also telephone banking, I wouldn’t have thought to use a SNES back then either. I’m sure if there was a PS4 banking app, nobody would use it because phones.
Great video dude!
Thanks man!
Awesome video Yahel!
Thanks man!
That would have been pretty dope to have in the 90's lol
Dope, indeed!
Love your videos, Keep up the amazing work buddie ^.^
Thanks! 😃
love all your content, please keep it up!!!
Thanks!
Really great content man!
Thank you and thanks for watching.
Holy shit last place I’d expect to see Vancity! Haha so proud of my credit union
They were pretty forward thinking!
The prison ATM special 😂
3:07 That's some particularly sexy music and narration for such a dry subject... "Where are you gonna stick that cartridge, baby?" lol "The process becomes automatic..." :)
😂
I think I might get the Transdirect Home Banking System speedrun
TAS
Great video. Subscribed. Thanks for the content! :)
Thanks!
The music in that TranDirect video has some serious Persona 5 vibes.
It’s always so cool seeing unique uses for consoles :D
We gotta get the TranDirect soundtrack released on vinyl.
Nintendo of America was working on a SNES based banking system with Wells Fargo and Supra Corporation (providing the modem tech). The modems were my product at Supra- they connected via the expansion port on the bottom of the SNES. Lance Barr at NoA did the case design for the modem. Wells Fargo supposedly got cold feet and pulled out of the deal. I kept the only SNES modem board as a trophy. [edit: FYI, the Nintendo/Wells/Supra effort was about 1996]
Am i hearing John Murphy's Adagio in D Minor sounding in the background? Where can i get that version? Thanks
My first programming job was with this company in 1995. I got the job because the posting mentioned 65816 ( the 6502 on steroids ) and I was familiar with it - though not at all with the SNES.
The SNES project wasn't a success, but its cousins and their descendents handle much ot today's Canadian Credit Union online banking.
Thank you for the mention.
Thanks so much for adding a bit of backstory. It was really difficult to find any information on this at all
@@WrestlingWithGaming You might try Central1 Credit Union in Vancouver. Kelly West ( a manager there as of2017 when I retired ) had worked at TVI, and might have useful info.
My high point at TVI was the code to render the proportional font ( designed by E. John Love ) used for the "e-mail" , in the process discovering a bug in the SNES 65816 Macro assembler
Fun times - as were later years at Central 1 working on online banking.
I thought I knew about every obscure SNES product. Guess not. Thanks for showing something so unique!
Thanks for watching!
Interesting, but I can for sure see why this never took off, and yes back in the 90's computers where expensive if you did not know how shop around, find the parts, and build one yourself, which is what I did back then in highschool, and built an AMD K6 II 550 MHz machine for just under $600 USD which was still a lot, and I had to take an after school job saving up all summer, and then some to do it though.
the music in that promo video is so good
Incredible, wow!
Awesome
Oh, Dell Dude, I remember you! Back when having a pot arrest could ruin your career... and did for him. Thanks for the video once again, this reminds me of what Nintendo did with the Family Computer Network System.
Oh man, I forgot all about his arrest! Thanks for watching!
Things change a lot. 😀👍🎮
Funny how time works- back in the late '90's, many people still didn't have personal computers due to their price points. Today, nearly everyone is attached at the hip to their iPhones, which they pretty much do everything in their lives on the device - hence making home computers nearly obsolete.
Alright, but is nobody going to mention the Wakko plush doll on the couch at 4:24? Man Animaniacs was a helluva great cartoon.
I love how they have a snes next to a fricking plant
The audio quality of the video is pretty sharp wow.
A banking system, an online service, a hot seat, a glove, a piano, light guns, a mouse, a robot. Is there anything Nintendo DIDN'T have?
A cd rom
Gaijillionaire a CD-ROM adapter was actually created for the SNES! It was never released, but yes, Nintendo had it.
Jordan Springer oh no way! I wonder what ever became of it??
Uninformed banking company: Let’s create software for the Super Nintendo
Hackers: YES!!!
Holy shit you look hulk in this video! Also great video!
Aaah, so that thing dude in Terminator 2 used at the teller machine wasn't just BS...
Imagine if your kid “accidentally” loaded the banking system and started messing around 😕
😂
That's why they had a password system...but good thought.
@@d.b2664 Some people are dumb enough to write down their passwords!
E-mail is the most popular thing on the internet....YEAH....good times=)
Im really jealous of your hair man Im nearly bald :) Great video by the way.You always show something interesting what I didnt know
I'm sure it's only a matter of time before father time takes my hair. I'm 39 so it's on borrowed time
@@WrestlingWithGaming Im 38 and still have some left :D .Keep up the good work mate I love your videos :) Great job always...
Thanks! I appreciate it! 😃
There's an obvious bump in the right side of the cart at 5:19.
Probably just a fake prop with a hole that will take a CAT2 cable. They'd probably be stacking and cramming PCB's if they were planning to stick the modem in the cart itself.
This guy's got cool videos
LOL why did the video need to include 5 seconds of the guy clearing a place on the couch for him to sit?
Finally, someone else besides me thinks that was weird and unnecessary lol.
He needed somewhere to sit.
They're trying to convey that he has children and that's the reason he has a SNES. They didn't want people thinking adults would have toy for any other reason.
Wrestling With Gaming perhaps his wife forgot to tidy up
Wow dude you get bigger😱Thx 4 new video ,I guess you in bodybuilding.Cheers from fan from Russia.
Up up down down x, y, hold l + r then select start . Adds $1000 to the account
Wow, just wow. 😮 I was surprised a Nintendo device the famcom was doing stocks which was crazy. Well, it turns out there's another one, banking using the SNES. Holy smackaroonies. Again learning new things from you. Kudos for this informative video. 💪😉👍
Thanks! It's a pretty crazy piece of tech.
@@WrestlingWithGaming I was floored on the famcom stocks but this = floored and rolled over. Until now just finished watching that I can't wrap my head around this. Like just wow. I don't know how you do it but please continue. I booked mark it as it is a very good source of info. It's like this gives us a background of how and where apps of today came from. How it makes me appreciate apps of today and gave it a new perpective and that it has come a long way.
Sorry for the long reply as I'm still feeling that "power move" you gave for the 1-2-3 on this video. Again thank you. 💪😉👍 Oh on the funny side, I'm pretty sure if this was out for consumers, I know who to look for on cheat codes say infinite savings. Lolz 🤣😂
I am currently wearing that exact Atari shirt. That’s crazy.
A new WWG vid? It's a good day.
I would love to have that cartridge and controller worth alot of money if found I bet!!!
Nice chadtronic shout out
5:23 that looks like an animaniacs stuffed animal on the couch.
Wakko I believe
@@Lownamebrand Came here to say this. ^