How to Keep Your ATM Business Going During the Coronavirus Pandemic

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Make no mistake, we are at war with an invisible opponent and it takes an Army to overcome it. You all are an Army! No one here is alone in this. We’re a family of ATM Entrepreneurs with tons of experience and ideas. We will get through this and many innovations and relationships can be borne from it.  Take advantage of any opportunities you can. Here are some thoughts and ATM Business Coronavirus Tips …

Hang in there, people. Believe it or not there could be an opportunity if you’re willing to risk it.  

While at home, you could be planning for the future. This situation is not going to last forever. Stay safe but you can still do things to grow and maintain your ATM Business. Like …

  1. Calling Local Essential Store Owners: Call local essential store owners and offer to take over their ATM for 90 days so they can focus on their main business. Offer to sterilize the ATM often or add value that can help them during this crisis. Think about what might help them and benefit you or your future relationship with them.
  2. Placing an ATM in Your Neighborhood: Think about what would make a difference in your neighborhood. Would a mobile ATM help? People might not want to use an ATM in the grocery store, target, or Wal-Mart right now. They are probably not as sanitized as one that would be brought to their house in a van or on a trailer.
    • Get creative. Even a small 3′ x 5′ trailer (enclosed or open) would accommodate an ATM. Bolt it to the floor of the trailer and reinforce it with some steel “L” metal or large galvanized eye bolts if you want, that will allow you to even add a lock if you want from inside the ATM.
    • Add an ATM Wireless device, Car battery, inverter, and a car battery trickle charger at home overnight and you’ve got a low budget mobile essential service ATM.
    • Advertise on the nextdoor.com app; clean, safe, cash delivery. You can probably set the surcharge at whatever makes it worthwhile for all parties.

Place an ATM in Your Neighborhood

They are paying you for an essential service that lessens their risk to exposure. You are risking exposure as are first responders, medical professionals, grocery clerks, and other essential businesses and employees. 

Contactless delivery of cash would mean they use your just sanitized ATM, you stay back at least 10+ feet while they process the transaction.  You can even have a few of the items you sell displayed in the trailer if it’s enclosed or make a flyer or sign and put it on top of the ATM in a plexiglass holder (like a table tent). Or take the orders in advance and have them bagged and ready to deliver.

I’d also guess banks that service ATMs are being neglected due to short staff, cutbacks, and trying to run leaner. So they might not be cleaned as often or if the store’s maintenance crew is so busy cleaning everything else and they don’t own the ATM it may be neglected.

If you’re willing and need to provide for yourself or others, you are considered an essential business.  You can even offer smaller shop owners who may be struggling and are running to lean to help; even offer to stock shelves for an hour to show him you’re for real and you live in that town and want to help.

This is how true relationships are developed.

Just remember, don’t let this shut you down. There are still ways to earn money for your ATM Business.

Since you’re offering cash delivery it makes sense to also offer a basic delivery service with other essentials. Pick up various kinds of fruits and vegetables that are popular in your neighborhood, add some soda, coffee beans, or whatever makes sense in your neighborhood.  

Maybe even consider liquor delivery (but you’d have to make a deal with a local liquor store to be “their delivery service” since there are laws around booze delivery but many states are relaxing those a bit.

If you have an ATM in a restaurant and it’s closed, talk to the owner or manager. Perhaps they have some food they want to get rid of or sell. Maybe their food distributor wants to move some items they can’t sell to the restaurants now since they are closed. You might be able to help a restaurant just sell their food inventory or work out a delivery deal with them. This restaurant turned into a grocery store to keep the doors open.

Offer items at a fair markup, add the delivery fee in the surcharge (make sure that’s disclosed), $15 – $20 is not out of line if you have a decent selection of common items and they pay in cash with the ATM machine so you have no CC fees (obviously you could take CC with PayPal, Venmo, etc) but if you want to promote your local ATM business and make deals with local merchants that see little to no traffic, offer their items on consignment even. It’s a great way to get to know store owners and perhaps secure the ATM location in the future.

I don’t advise being out of your house, but for some that don’t have any emergency funds or have a lot of bills to pay and absolutely need some income coming in, there are ways.  Just be sure to “Suit up” if you venture out to conduct business. That means real PPE gear to protect yourself.

The more Personal Protection Equipment you use, the safer you’ll be and your customers will trust that you’re serious about the sanitary nature of the ATM and your items. You can also offer wipes, masks, and anything people might need or be running out of.

Some of these items take a few weeks to get. Make no mistake, we’ll most likely be in this mode of operating for at least another 8 weeks, maybe 12.  Get prepared. Don’t be fooled into thinking this is only a few more weeks. This virus isn’t going to magically disappear. 

Links to Personal Protection Equipment: 

Not everyone has a credit card to use for food delivery. Everyone needs fresh fruits, veggies, and some staples often and can’t risk visiting the store often if they are at high risk.  You can turn this into a temporary business and keep some cash coming in. During the great depression, people were selling fruit in the streets of New York, this is nothing new, just a modern twist on survival.

Here’s a Sample nextdoor.com ad (I’m not sure nextdoor.com will allow this but it’s worth a shot. It may get flagged but keep posting). I’d also contact the local chamber of commerce and any other outreach programs to help get the word out. Even 4 – 5 deliveries a day will help you bring in a couple of grand a month.

Howdy neighbors! My name is [     ] and I’m in your neighborhood. I’m in the ATM business and with the virus disrupting my everyday livelihood I’m trying to take care of myself and my family.  Do you need Cash or basic essentials like fruit, veggies, coffee, soda, or something else?

Since most of the locations where my ATMs are located are now closed, I’m offering to bring an ATM to your house or neighborhood and deliver essential everyday items like fresh fruit, vegetables, and some other items to reduce your risk of going outside.

If you need some cash for when you do need to venture out to stock up on other supplies you can count on my ATM to be safe. It will be sanitized after every single person uses it (unlike the ones at the stores). Having cash before you go to the store will also reduce your risk of exposure since you won’t have to touch the credit or debit card machines and you can get in and out of the store faster. 

In order to make my delivery service convenient and safe for everyone, I will be wearing personal protection (Mask, Gloves, etc) and everything I sell will have been sanitized prior to delivery. I will wear gloves when getting your selections. 

For example. I will have bananas, apples, onions, potatoes, (list items you plan to offer here including any cleaning supplies. Think of things your neighbors might want).  If there is something else you want, I will be going to the store to stock up on (pick some days) and you can email items that interest you. If I can find them available, I can provide them.  There will be a minimal markup on items but I do ask that you pay for them with the cash from my ATM machine and the delivery charge will be included in the ATM surcharge of (enter what you want to charge here – $15, $20  ??). It is a flat fee for delivery and cash withdrawal. The maximum cash you can get per visit is $200 (there will not be much more than that available in the ATM for each delivery for safety reasons). If you prefer to pay with Venmo (or enter another form of payment you might take) the delivery fee will be added to that payment method.

Thank you for helping me support my family during this crisis. God bless us all!