The ATM Turns 50: Why Evolution Is Key For Its Survival
Monday, July 10, 2017
Posted by Katrin Boettger to Payments and Industry Trends, Transaction Banking
Share this:
The ATM turns 50 this year and half a century on ATMs remain popular with consumers worldwide. Banks and building societies more than ever see ATMs as a key channel of communication and interaction with their customers and many are now offering ATM services that go beyond simple cash withdrawal. We spoke with Paul Horlock, Director for Payments at Nationwide, one of the biggest high street financial providers in the UK. Nationwide has been working with ACI Worldwide for over 30 years and currently uses ACI’s BASE24 eps solution to power an estate of around 700 ATMs across the UK.
Paul, it is no secret that cash is on the decline in the UK and with the ATM known to many consumers simply as ‘cash point’ the question is: Do we still need ATMs and what for?
It is certainly true that in the UK the use of cash is in decline, in fact over 50% of transactions in Britain are now cashless while digital and contactless payments are becoming more popular. Today most consumers have a ‘digital interface’ in their pockets to make payments or access other banking services. For ATMs that means - evolve or die! Let’s remember what ‘ATM’ actually stands for - Automated Teller Machine - and it is exactly in this role that the ATM is going to be relevant for the next 50 years, offering a variety of services that consumers need and that can complement other existing channels.
What kind of services does Nationwide offer its customers via its ATMs and what role do ATMs play in the overall strategy of the business?
In the last few years we have modernised our ATMs, a task that is ongoing, and today they are offering many services that go beyond the usual functions of dispensing cash and balance information. Via our color touchscreen ATMs Nationwide members are for example able to deposit banknotes, which are immediately credited to the account and available for withdrawal. Customers can access mini-statements and receive service alerts or information about special offers. We have an in-branch only ATM estate at Nationwide and every time a customer interacts with one of our ATMs we enable them to have a conversation with their branch and us as a building society. Our aim is for customers to have a consistency of services and experience whether they are using an ATM, speak to one of our colleagues in branch or access services via their mobile or internet.
ACI published a global survey of 8,000 customers to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the ATM which revealed that better and more secure ways of authentication are on top of consumers’ wish list when it comes to new ATM services. Are you looking at new ways of customer authentication for ATMs?
Preventing fraud and making sure that our customers feel secure when using our ATMs is a priority for us. Like many others in the industry we are looking to develop new and secure methods of authentication. I think what we will eventually see are new authentication methods which involve a combination of identification via a mobile phone and biometric factors. We are working on this and looking at how to integrate this into our existing ATM services.
Related Blog Posts
Payments in Gaming: The Female Gamer Powers-Up
The global games market is booming, with revenues set to reach USD $137.9 billion by 2021. But along with the growth, gaming is also transforming and diversifying; in genre, gaming devices, platforms, economics and demographics. Notably, female gamers are ‘powering up’ – representing 40% of paying gamers across all platforms – and there are implications for how gaming companies deliver their products and the role of payments in the overall customer experience.
Mid-Year Payments Reflections… And What 2018 Has Left Up Its Sleeve
It has been a while since I had a chance to my thoughts, nee, reflections. My all-time favorite movie reminds us all that “Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” And with this advice in mind, I want to share my thoughts on the ‘Big 3’ of 2018 so far… and prep us all on what to look for as the calendar churns through its last six pages.
Could Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies Revolutionize Payments in the Gaming Sector? [Q&A]
ACI recently partnered with Nextpayway, a company offering a specialist payment solution for the gaming industry. The Israeli start-up is implementing ACI’s UP eCommerce Payments solution to deliver next-generation payments and fraud prevention. We spoke with Nextpayway’s CEO Angela Behar just after the GES World Gaming Summit in Barcelona.
Hat in Hand with 17 Heads: Payments Innovation and the Fraud Pitfalls to Avoid
Imagine that you live in a world that is revenue-agnostic, where payments revenue is so far decoupled from the payments channels that they ride on, and that startup culture and venture capital allow for the creation of all sorts of innovations that have some creative monetization that keep the train on the tracks. If you got halfway through that horrific sentence and realized we’ve been there for quite a while already, I’m impressed. It is essentially the cornerstone of banking, in many capacities.
Time is Money: A Millennial View of UK Faster Payments’ 10th Anniversary
As a millennial, I’ve often been the butt of jokes of those a little bit older than I am (whether colleagues or my own family). One of the clichés perpetuated is that we are constantly glued to our smartphones: In a way that’s correct, but misses an important point. As a young millennial professional, the most important thing to me is TIME. And that’s the reason my phone plays a crucial role in my life – much to the annoyance of my girlfriend and family. It means I can do things on the move, which in turn makes my life a whole lot easier.
Pints, Penalties and Payment Fraud: Welcome to the World Cup
You’d think that England already had the World Cup in the bag, based on the nationwide scenes of jubilation after the Three Lions’ penalty-takers had gone against the (painful) grain of football history, and emerged victorious at the end of a scrappy match against Colombia. However, those cries of “It’s Coming Home” from English football fans may just be a little premature, given that there are still three matches to play (and win) before the English can lay claim to being world champions for the first time in half a century.
Success Speaks: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Talks Meeting Member Demands in Healthcare
When looking for a payments success story in the world of healthcare, you’d be wise to turn your attention to the Great Lakes and the work done by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (BCBS MI). In a recent webinar with AHIP (America’s Health Insurance Plans) and ACI, Faran Farooqi, Strategic Capability Implementation and Operations for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, shared his insights into how his organization addressed the challenges of today to deliver a great payments experience for their members.
Innovate and Integrate to Accumulate: Investing in Payments Systems to Drive Growth
Today’s merchants face numerous challenges, which boil down to one central issue: how to succeed in a constantly changing, complex market, while also investing for the future.
Merchants need to deliver on growing expectations around the customer experience in an increasingly competitive environment, while battling growing costs and squeezed margins. This pressure extends through the whole business for every merchant, in every sector, and it’s driving merchants to look into every corner of their operations for ways to cut costs and redirect resources.
Taking Payments and Fintech for Granted? (A Lyrical Edition)
Based on a very quick search of the Googles, there are 128,014 songs that contain the lyrics “take for granted”— from the likes of Mary J. Blige, Social Distortion, Madness and Frank Sinatra as well as countless other great (and not-so-great) crooners. And that would make for a sizable Spotify playlist… and I do love my Spotify playlists (I’ve been on a Wham! kick lately).
Instant + Open Payments = A Winning Combination
I recently joined a panel discussion at EBAday 2018, alongside representatives from across the payments ecosystem, and the clear consensus was that real-time payments will be the new normal. This was evidenced by some of the interactive polls carried out.