Wireless ATMs are quickly gaining ground, especially in Asia-Pacific, where the communications infrastructure is leapfrogging more developed parts of the world.
This week, Sydney, Australia-based iCash Payment Systems Ltd. announced a deal with Optus, an Australia-based communications company that serves nearly 6 million customers daily, to make its entire Australian ATM fleet wireless. The wireless connectivity is being supplied by Symstream.
By using the Optus GSM or 3G networks, Symstream wireless modems will be used to connect iCash's ATM fleet to its host computer to process transactions. Symstream uses a voice channel rather than GPRS channels, to process transactions. Symstream claims the transactions are two to three times faster and provide multiple redundancy links from the carrier networks into iCash's host processor network, making it more secure.
James Manny, the executive chairman of iCash, says in a news release that the move to wireless connectivity will help iCash enhance its ATM network:
"On the international front, we're particularly excited about the fact that we can now activate wireless ATMs in countries where we now operate and plan to expand. This will help us to better serve merchants in countries where land line services are very limited but cellular service is widely available and affordable. In the future, iCash will be implementing the use of this technology as the company expands into key markets across Asia, including China."
