Tag Archive for: smart atms

The Smart ATM Could Mean More Business for ATM Owners

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Although ATM machines will be part of the financial industry for a long time, they can’t stay the same forever. ATMs need to evolve to meet the demands and expectations of the modern consumer.

Whether we like it or not, ATM machines are in the category of “technology.” And, people expect technological devices to do more than ever. Essentially, that means that people will continue to expect more services from ATMs.

And that’s the whole reason smart ATMs were created in the first place. So, what is a smart ATM? What does it do? And—most importantly—how will these new ATMs affect you, as an ATM machine owner (or future ATM owner)?

What is a Smart ATM?Happy Woman Using Smart ATM

Smart ATM machines aren’t new. They’ve been around for a while. But, they’ve been fairly uncommon for many years, because there hasn’t been a huge demand for them. And, they demand more capable banking and ATM processing networks.

As such, smart ATM machines have been slow to take off because the supporting infrastructure and consumer demand was a bit behind the smart ATM technology.

A smart ATM is just an ATM machine that’s capable of doing more than dispensing cash. Banking customers can use one to deposit funds, open accounts, transfer money, and other things that can usually only be done at a bank branch.

Smart ATM machines that offer all these services are called “microbranches” or “branch-in-a-box.”

Now, not all smart ATM machines offer complete branch-in-a-box functionality. Some only offer an additional service or two beyond dispensing cash. But, it’s possible for ATM machines to provide almost all the services that a physical bank branch offers.

More powerful ATMs bring us one step closer to true 24-hour, self-service banking.

If you own a smart ATM machine, offering additional services increases your opportunities for transactions, since people have more reasons to use your machine. And, that’s always a good thing.

Smart ATM Technology

An ATM needs slightly more advanced technology to achieve all the functionality that smart ATM machines require. The hardware and user interface on traditional keypad ATMs isn’t quite enough to perform more in depth financial transactions.

So, smart ATM machines must be equipped with a few key capabilities to deliver microbranch capabilities.

Touchscreens

Touchscreen ATMs can do a lot more than keypad ATM machines. And, the ubiquity of touchscreens on smartphones, tablets, and laptops means that customers are much more comfortable using a touchscreen ATM than in decades past.

A touchscreen also makes it possible to perform banking functions that require a signature, which is a requirement for true branch-in-a-box ATM service.

Cash Recycling

Cash recycling is a vital capability for smart ATM machines, since they enable users to make deposits.

In short, cash recycling is using deposited bills for dispensing cash for ATM withdrawals. It’s just common sense to do this if your ATM accepts deposits. However, there’s an additional benefit: the ATM owner doesn’t need to restock their ATM machine as often.

Intelligent Deposit

Intelligent deposit sounds fancy. However, intelligent deposit just means that customers can make cash or check deposits through an ATM.

ATMs that offer intelligent deposit usually make digital copies of checks. And, the ATM owner has no control over when the funds are available. That’s up to the bank.

Network Connectivity

All the additional services require that your ATM machines have solid connectivity with banks. If you run smart ATMs, that means that you need to choose your ATM processor carefully. There’s a lot more data transfer involved with bank-in-a-box functionality, and your ATM processor needs to support that connectivity.

Happy Older Couple Using ATMHow Smart ATMs Will Change the Banking Industry

Smart ATM machines aren’t going to cause some massive disruption. But, they’re creating a new channel for customers to access banking services.

A significant percentage of consumers already use ATM machines as their only method of interaction with their bank. And, better ATM machines will likely cause that number to increase, because there will be fewer and fewer services that are not offered through an ATM.

So, banks will want smart ATMs. These machines help them make more money (though, not necessarily through ATM fees). And, many banks will outsource their ATM services to avoid the upfront costs of purchasing new machines.

This presents new opportunities for third parties—ATM machine owners—to provide the software and infrastructure to support services through this expanding channel. At the end of the day, more capable ATM machines mean a larger, more profitable ATM industry, and more potential for ATM owners.

Do You Need a Smart ATM?

We’re all about owning ATM machines here. So, the important question to answer here is whether or not smart ATMs are a good idea for ATM business owners.

First, you don’t need to start transitioning to smart ATM machines or start with one as your first machine. Cash dispensing ATM machines will make plenty of money for ATM machine owners for decades to come.

However, smart ATM machines offer a lot of banking functionality that makes them attractive to banks. If you want to partner with banks to provide branded off-site ATM machines, being able to provide more banking services through your ATM makes your offer more attractive to the bank.

So, the viability of smart ATMs in your business depends on where you want to place your ATM machines. Most traditional locations don’t have a huge demand for branch-in-a-box services.

In the long-term, it may be wise to buy ATM machines with the core capabilities of a microbranch ATM, like touchscreens and cash recycling. But, there’s no hurry.

If you’re a new ATM business owner or looking to expand your fleet of ATMs, you can safely continue to use cash dispensing ATM machines.

Smart ATMs

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How Smart is An ATM?

How Smart is An ATM

Thanks to digital technology, automatic teller machines, like so many gadgets we use in our daily lives, are getting smarter all the time. A few years ago, the only relationship between ATMs and smartphones was the fact that you could use a phone app to locate the nearest ATM. Now, however, smartphone apps in many instances are replacing ATM cards altogether.

Consider, for example, the ATM program that the self-service software company NCR has introduced recently. ATM users who have smartphones with cameras can approach an ATM and complete the following process:

  • Activate their NCR app
  • Enter their PIN number on their phone
  • Choose the account from which they want to withdraw money and the dollar amount of that withdrawal
  • Scan the QR code that the ATM screen displays

After doing these things, the money comes out and a receipt is sent directly to the smartphone. NCR says that this withdrawal should take a customer about ten seconds. It helps people avoid the threat of skimming, and takes away the fear that they might lose their ATM card or have it stolen.

Diebold, an Ohio-based company that also specializes in self-service systems, has likewise found a way to combine smartphones and ATMs to eliminate the need for an ATM card. Their program works in a way similar to NCR’s:

  • An ATM user scans the QR card on a smartphone.
  • An ATM screen appears on the phone, allowing that person to choose a dollar amount to withdraw.
  • A code appears, which the customer types on the screen of the ATM.

The cash is dispensed, and transactions are complete when customers receive the electronic receipt on their phones. Note that customers receive different codes every time they use this system; as soon as a transaction has gone through, that code is voided. This system not only makes ATM transactions more convenient for customers, but it benefits banks as well, in that it uses a cloud server rather than a bank’s computer. As a result, banks don’t need to use as much power on any given day. Further, banks do not have to pay for paper and printer ink to print out receipts.

The Diebold system also allows people to use their smartphones to “wire” money to others. Let’s say your son is on a spring break trip and loses his wallet and all his cash, and he has no bank account from which to withdraw money. All you have to do under such circumstances is use your ATM app to select an amount of money to withdraw. You will receive a code which you can send to your son’s smartphone. He can then go to an ATM, enter that code and withdraw the amount of cash you selected. Again, this code is a one-time-only code.

It may surprise you to learn that banks generally do not have to do much work in order to make their ATMs compatible with smartphones. In most cases, all a bank must do is update its ATM software and add a barcode scanner to each machine.

In the future, automatic teller machines might become even more interactive. The aforementioned company NCR is teaming up with a company headquartered in Utah called uGenius Technology to develop ATMs with video screens. These screens allow customers  interact with bank tellers; the tellers are on hand to guide ATM customers through complicated transactions – transactions which, in the past, usually required speaking with a real live teller at a bank. If this technology catches on, it might mean that bank branches will not need to hire as many tellers, as a smaller number of tellers will work in central locations and help customers remotely.