BAI RD: Industry consultant says ATMs remain critical for FIs

BAI RD: Industry consultant says ATMs remain critical for FIs
Tags: Associations / Conferences, Bank / Credit Union, Deposits / Check 21, North America
November 10, 2009

BAI's Banking Strategies Insights reports that banks must get serious about improving their ATMs, especially in the area of envelope-free deposit. That was the message delivered by Sam Ditzion and reported by Banking Strategies Insights last week during BAI's Retail Delivery Conference & Expo in Boston.

Ditzion, the founder and chief executive of Boston-based Tremont Capital Group Inc., said banks need to remember that getting cash and depositing checks at ATMs remains critical to their operations. In his presentation during the RD event, entitled, "The ATM Channel: Strategies for Surviving and Thriving Through a Financial Crisis," Ditzion said cash remains a dominant payment method in the United States.

"Cash is one of the most dominant payment methods in the United States and will be for years to come," he said.

Ditzion estimates that the amount of cash in circulation is increasing about 5 percent per year. With credit access becoming more limited, cash is even "more relevant" today, he said.

"Credit availability is diminished or gone altogether for many consumers and credit lines are being chopped by issuers," Ditzion said. "Cash is definitely keeping its market share of transactions."

Cash withdrawals continue to be the dominant transactions conducted at ATMs, but envelope-free deposit technology is becoming increasingly popular, with roughly half of the country's 400,000 ATMs operated by banks. And despite the fact that many U.S. banks are looking at their IT investments in the light of the financial crisis, Ditzion said banks still need to support and advance their ATMs.

"Even if your balance sheet is really messy, you still need ATMs and they need to work," Ditzion said. "No matter how ugly things are, you can't limit your ATMs."