Over 60% of UK residents now, reportedly, use online financial services, so bricks-and-mortar banks are not as important as they once were. It was also recently reported that the big five banks are currently closing 60 branches a month, meaning they are becoming less of a feature on the high street. Matt Grant, business development director at RealVNC, sees an opportunity for the ATM revolution
With far fewer banks, it will become increasingly difficult for those who do not want to handle their finances solely online to access services, unless the industry is able to come up with a solution that replaces the traditional bank.
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While many believe ATMs have the potential to provide more advanced branch services, such as paying in cheques or printing statements, it is also projected that over the next few years, up to 30,000 cashpoints are expected to disappear from high streets because of the high cost of upkeep.
The industry, therefore, has a challenge to find ways to make ATMs profitable enough to stay open while also providing a sound alternative to the traditional bank. This is a difficult balancing act that requires a completely new way of thinking about ATMs and the services they offer. Banks must begin to perceive ATMs not just as cashpoints, but as a one-stop-shop for all kinds of transaction, and an opportunity for customer service, consumer engagement and upselling.
A number of pioneering financial institutions are beginning to recognise that ATMs can be much more than just a cash dispenser. NCR is developing a ‘bank in a box’ ATM, which claims to perform up to 80% of the tasks a bank branch can, and has the potential to eventually replace the need for physical branch locations.
Actions such as depositing cash and cheques, the issuing of new cards and even customer service can be handled at the cashpoint, providing a way for people to use a much wider range of services. There are also plans for ‘iPhone ATMs’ with touchscreens, ‘recirculating cashpoints’ that let you deposit coins in the machine, ‘selfie ATMs’ that use face ID, and cashpoints that allow customers to talk to an adviser by video link and order concert tickets.
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By GlobalDataThese innovations are a step in the right direction to ensuring ATMs have the advanced capabilities to handle day-to- day bank branch activities. Making cashpoints easier to use and able to perform a wider array of functions will allow financial institutions to provide customers with an alternative banking avenue while also finding new revenue streams to make ATMs more profitable.
While innovating the traditional hole in the wall is a vital step in ensuring financial institutions do not disappear from the high street altogether, it is also critical that there are structures in place that allow the more advanced machines to work seamlessly.
Unlike a store front, ATMs have the potential to malfunction, which can take days or even weeks to get back up and running. Maximising uptime is a crucial way to increase the ROI and profitability of cashpoints and reduce customer frustration over closures.
Implementing technology such as remote access software, which have the capabilities to allow engineers in a remote service centre to access an ATM, will provide a platform to quickly and easily fix any technical problems.
This means that ATMs can be maintained in real time, which improves uptime and dramatically reduces the need for expensive field service calls. In a further attempt to reduce ATM downtime, operators are using remote access technology to organise and implement mass system updates.
Using this software, engineers are able to remotely log into the machines at an appropriate time and add new updates and features, or roll out new operating systems across entire ATM estates. As well as maximising uptime, the ability to regularly and easily update ATMs safeguards them against the threat of new data breaches, such as ‘ATM jackpotting’, and ensures customer data and money remains safe.
As ATMs play more of a role in the safeguarding of physical banking abilities, it is vital that their networks are secure and trusted by the public.
And with banks having to pay back money stolen from customer accounts via a hacked cashpoint, security updates are a vital way of keeping ATM costs down. In order to truly replicate the services offered by traditional banks, financial institutions also need to integrate more customer service applications into ATM offerings.
Using remote access technology, they can create an interactive facility within the cashpoint that offers customers levels of services expected in a face-to-face branch experience.
This is a major enabler of customer loyalty in a time of mass bank closures, and will help to ensure banks continue to provide the personal touch without physical branches.
Remote access software enables support teams to interact with users at the ATM, creating a cost-effective, ‘always on’ service capability. Customer service desks can engage step by step with the customer to guide them through transactions or queries through video, audio and on-screen annotations.
This helps banks continue to offer communication to the older and more lucrative customer demographic that value human interaction without the need for expensive, full-service branch locations.
If ATMs are to provide an alternative to traditional bank branches, it is vital that financial institutions and operators reinvent their role. The ultimate goal is to help users easily complete more actions at an ATM.
In order to ensure that the machines can offer the same experience as in-branch, technologies are needed to improve ATM uptime and introduce customer service capabilities that allow banks to continue to connect with customers.
