5 Ways to Improve ATM Safety

by

ATM safety is just as important as monitoring any other area where financial transactions are made or cash is kept. Where there is money, there will be thieves trying to get to it.

You don’t need to abandon your ATM business because of potential risks. It is no more vulnerable than any cash register anywhere. You simply need to remain aware of threats. Just like you know where your purse or wallet is at all times, or monitor your bank statements for unauthorized transactions, or keep your personal vault barricaded and locked, utilize this same diligence to improve ATM safety.

Make sure you take appropriate precautions and don’t cut any corners when it comes to securing your ATM machine. Follow these 5 ATM safety tips to ensure that your assets as well as your customers’ data remain secure.

Common Threats to ATM Safety

ATM safety threats apply to the ATM cash itself as well as to customer card information and account access. ATM attacks can be logical or physical. 

Physical Attacks

Physical attacks include equipment damages in an attempt to access the cash inside. Thieves can go as far as trying to remove or steal the entire machine from a location or even using explosives to breach the chassis, or front, of the machine.

Equipment attacks typically happen after hours when no one is around and pose little threat to customers. However, physical attacks can threaten customer safety in other ways. For example, customers can be robbed after making a withdrawal, or they can be forced to make withdrawals or give up financial information.

Physical attacks can also threaten customers through ATM tampering. Pinhole cameras, fake fronts, skimmers/shimmers, Lebanese loops, and counterfeit PIN pads are all ways thieves can gain access to customer bank cards and PINs and therefore access their accounts and funds.

Logical Attacks

Logical attacks, on the other hand, refer to software hacking. Some attackers attempt to infect ATMs with malware or hack into the ATM’s operating system to gain control over the machine and steal information or cash. This threatens customer data as well as the cash inside the ATM. Some hackers are content with collecting account numbers and PINs while others can cause the ATM to malfunction resulting in the emptying of the vault through seemingly legitimate transactions.

But don’t worry. Independent ATM breaches aren’t that common, especially if you take the right ATM safety precautions. First of all, the more fortified a machine is, the less likely someone is to try to breach it. The more time and effort a breach requires, the more risk that’s involved. Furthermore, experienced thieves know that independent ATM machines don’t hold enough cash to make the effort worth the risk.

5 Ways to Improve ATM Safety

Here are some ways you can improve ATM safety for both your business and your customers:

Utilize Surveillance

First and foremost is to have eyes on the machine at all times. Whether you place your machine in direct eyesight from the register or install security cameras or both, witnesses are sure to deter thieves. Your location may already have security cameras on the premises, or you can install your own fairly cheaply from retailers like Costco or Amazon (we recommend a two-camera system). If you have an outdoor machine, it might be in view of the cameras of neighboring businesses. 

Whatever the situation, it doesn’t hurt to put up a sign that alerts passersby that the machine is under video surveillance. This not only helps deter thieves, but it also makes customers more comfortable using your machine knowing that they are less likely to be approached. And if anything happens, it can be reassuring to know that there will be video evidence.

Some machines come equipped with a camera system as well. A standard feature of Genmega machines, for example, is the GenCam camera system. This allows customers (and criminals) to see themselves on screen. For criminals, this is a huge deterrent. They definitely don’t want their face captured and can see right away that it will be. For customers, they can better monitor their surroundings and protect themselves from “shoulder surfers”, attackers looking over their shoulder to observe their PIN as it’s entered.

Light ATM Area

Another simple way to improve ATM safety, deter crime, and increase customer comfortability is to make sure the ATM area is well-lit. The more attention your machine receives, the better. You don’t want users or thieves to feel obscured from the public eye. This can deter customers and embolden criminals.

You want the machine to be secured and barricaded, but not hidden. There is a fine line between securing and obscuring your machine. 

Secure Machine

To prevent some physical attacks, it’s important to make sure that your machine is secured. The harder it is to get to or move, the longer an attack will take, and the more risk that’s involved for thieves. Thieves looking for easy targets will likely move on if they see that your machine is properly secured.

This is why it is of the utmost importance that you bolt your machine to the ground. While some location owners might have some initial reservations about this, it only takes a couple of minutes to explain how important it is. Most machines don’t weigh too much more than a full-grown man, so if it isn’t bolted to the floor, it really won’t take much to jostle or remove the machine completely. 

Make sure that the machine is bolted to level ground so that no crowbars or other tools can be wedged between the machine and the floor. And after installing the machine, shove it on all sides to ensure that it doesn’t budge. Place the machine away from doors and windows if possible to prevent easy access to it after business hours.

You can further improve ATM safety by barricading the sides with other furniture that create even more obstacles to accessing the equipment. This is especially important in protecting your machine from logical attacks. You don’t want hackers to be able to access the mainboard and other internal electronics to manipulate the software or hardware. 

Inspect Machine

You want to regularly inspect your machine to identify any signs of tampering. When you vault and/or when cleaning your machine, run your hand over all surfaces feeling for any loose or bulky areas or anything that doesn’t feel normal. Fake fronts, Lebanese loops, and counterfeit PIN pads might not be recognizable to the untrained eye, but if you check your machine regularly, these modifications will become obvious. You might have to look a little harder to spot a pinhole camera, but if you know what you are looking for, it should only take a second each time you visit the machine.

Keep an Irregular Vaulting Schedule

Keeping an irregular vaulting schedule can improve your safety and the safety of your vault cash. You don’t want someone to be able to predict when you and your machine will be vulnerable. Try to vault outside of business hours to minimize the amount of foot traffic around you when vaulting. And invest in an eLock if your machine doesn’t already have one to minimize the time you spend at the machine when cash is vulnerable. 

Monitor Activity

Finally, be diligent with monitoring your ATM’s activity. Remote online monitoring makes this quick and easy. It’s something you can do from an app on your phone. Knowing what “normal” ATM activity looks like allows you to quickly recognize when something isn’t right. 

For example, if you notice an unusual increase in withdrawals or unusually high withdrawal amounts, this could be a sign that someone has hacked into the machine and caused it to malfunction. The sooner you identify the breach, the sooner you can address it and prevent further loss. 

Remote online monitoring can also alert you to any major shifts or blows to the ATM equipment. Getting this alert could be a sign of an attempted breach or removal of the machine. But you’ve got to know your machine(s) well to be able to identify any anomalies. However, you need to know this anyway to properly vault the machine, so just don’t take unusual activity lightly. If something seems off, check on it.

Conclusion

We didn’t write this article to make you nervous. We wrote it to help you think of threats you might not have considered before. Knowing possible vulnerabilities allows you to take the appropriate precautions and prevent disasters.

To identify possible weaknesses in your ATM security, put yourself in the shoes of criminals. Are there any areas that aren’t properly secured? Are there any “invitations” to breaching the machine? Then, put yourself in the shoes of your customers. Do you feel safe using the machine? Are there any witnesses? Is your financial information secure?

All it really takes to improve ATM safety is a little foresight and preparation. If you take your ATM safety seriously, you can consider yourself a challenging target and therefore less likely to experience theft or tampering.

ATM Marketing: 5 Ways to Promote Your Business

by

There are many ways to promote your business if you are a small business owner. But what if you are an ATM business owner? Well, many strategies will still work for you. And we highly encourage you to try some of these strategies if you want to scale your ATM business. 

The best part is that each of these 5 ways to promote your business costs little to nothing! That’s good news because it means that you can scale your ATM business without cutting into your profit which equals more passive income for you. Here’s how.

Why Promote Your ATM Business?

You will want to promote your ATM business to either get your first placement or to get additional placements after your initial installation. Promoting your business basically means advertising yourself. People need to know that you place ATM machines in order for them to seek you out for ATM service.

Of course, there are a number of steps and strategies you can use to actively get that first placement, and you can continue to use them. But advertising increases the chances of opportunities coming to you. That saves you a lot of time, energy, and other resources making cold calls and site visits that don’t convert to placement agreements.

The more passive opportunities that come your way, the more of your revenue you get to pocket. Next, we’ll show you 5 free and affordable ways to promote your business.

5 Ways to Promote Your Business

Social Media

First and foremost is social media. Why? Because that’s where everyone is! Social media is a great place to let friends and family know that you are in the ATM business. That way, they can refer you to business owners they know who might be interested in ATM service. Or, maybe they identify a gap in the market for you! 

If you have a hundred friends, that’s a hundred hooks you’ve got in the water! Basically, social media is a free and easy way to expand your reach with little to no effort on your part.

How to Optimize Social Media

Now, to improve your social media efforts and rewards, you will want to be active on your ATM business social media account. Here are some ideas of interesting and engaging content you can post to keep your page or channel active:

  • If you resolve an issue, share the experience! This will show your dedication to, knowledge of, and skill in maintaining your machine. 
  • Record short, informational videos. This will also demonstrate your knowledge as well as educate your audience on the ins and outs of how ATMs work. Promoting ATM and cash usage is good for your business, too, aside from getting placement opportunities.
  • Always post a relevant photo or graphic. This is an effective way to make your post stand out in a feed and makes scrollers more likely to stop and check it out! 
  • Memes are always fun. Adjust existing memes to relate to your ATM business experiences, or create your own. An expectation vs. reality meme or video could be a fun way to dispel myths and educate about ATMs, the ATM business, and how it all works.
  • Share interesting, relevant videos and articles related to your business. Sharing informational industry news can be an easy way to stay active on your page without having to create a lot of content.
  • Creating short, educational posts about ATMs and your business can help demonstrate your value. Make it obvious what you do and how you help local businesses.

Don’t Forget to Brand Yourself!

Your social media business account isn’t just for friends and family. Make it public and shareable. This will help you reach more people outside of your immediate circle. You can also be found this way by people actively searching for ATM servicers in their area. 

Then, if your page is kept current, you add branding (logo, theme, business name, etc.), and you display your unique style and personality, all of these factors can help you beat out any competition. Portraying a professional yet personable business identity, or brand, will make businesses want to work with you. Then, you can proudly share your social media with leads who can research you further and reach out when they are ready! 

ATM Business Card

ATM business cards demonstrate preparedness and professionalism. They are very handy when you encounter an unexpected potential opportunity. Keeping business cards on hand ensures that you are always ready to share your brand and contact info with whomever you might encounter day to day. 

However, you can also use business cards when you actively approach businesses with your ATM service offer. A business card is a good way to leave behind your information if the decision-maker isn’t on-site or available at the time of your visit or if the prospect initially declines or wants time to think about it. 

Traditional business cards are effective ways to promote your business because they are tangible. They will hang around, keeping you, your business, and your offer at the front of the location owner’s mind. Having something physical lying around after you leave keeps your prospect from forgetting about you. 

You can create your own business cards or use templates on websites like Shutterfly. You can order 50 cards for around $15. We even have some ATM business card tips you can use to get the right information out there!

While traditional business cards are effective marketing tools because of their tangibility, dot. business cards offer a new way to quickly and easily share your contact info. You only need one, and prospects can simply scan a QR code from their phones to get your digital business card! This way, it can’t get lost or trashed during spring cleaning, so it’s easy for a lead to access when he or she is ready to discuss your offer.

ATM Business Flier

An ATM business flier functions similarly to a business card. It’s something tangible you can leave behind if a prospect isn’t ready to talk at the time of your initial visit or if he or she wants time to think about your offer. The main difference is the type of information a flier includes.

A business flier will be larger than a business card. It will likely be printed on standard document paper. This allows you to be more specific about yourself and your business. You might add a personal bio, testimonials, and, most importantly, your value. 

On an ATM business flier, you will want to list the benefits of ATM service and the pain points you are able to solve. This can sometimes be a more effective reminder of your service than a business card which only shares your contact information.

Topper

A topper is a lighted sign you can purchase for an existing ATM machine. You can use it to display your name, your brand, your phone number, etc. This is a good way to reach strangers, anyone passing by or using your machine who is happy with your service and interested in ATM service him- or herself.

It also doubles as a marketing tool for the location itself. You can advertise specials, promotions, or new products and services for the store or business where your machine is placed. Generating more sales for your location is a good way to get a renewed contract and referral. Then, you can add to your ATM business flier your track record of increasing sales to the list of benefits you offer! 

Referral Program

Finally, you can create a referral program. This program is completely customizable. You can make it look however you want. The point is that you encourage friends, family, and location owners to scout out prospects on your behalf. In exchange for gifting you with a promising location, you can offer a reward. 

The incentive is up to you. You can offer a flat rate or a portion or percentage of the surcharge fee up to a certain amount or for a set period of time. If a friend or family member puts you in contact with a business interested in ATM service, you can gift a set amount to the person who made the referral. If the location owner of your current placement makes a referral, you can adjust the surcharge split in his or her favor.

A referral program is a good way to encourage people to actively try to put you in contact with more prospects. This motivation can help overcome any shyness or reservations someone might have about making a pitch on your behalf.

Conclusion

Not only are these 5 ways to promote your business simple and affordable, but you can use them all in conjunction! The more strategies you employ, the better your chances of reaching more people, getting more opportunities, and signing more placement agreements.

Whether you need to get your first ATM machine up and running or if you are ready to add more machines to your route, you’re going to have to get your name out there. 

Remember that the best part of these strategies is that they help create opportunities for leads to come to you. This saves you time and energy because you are meeting leads that are already interested in what you have to offer. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have contacted you! 

So what are you waiting for? Start experimenting with ways to promote your business today!