See a slide show from the show
It's going to be a tale-telling year for U.S. ATM deployers. Regulations, political change and shake-ups at some of the country's largest and once most-revered financial institutions are having an impact. How great that impact will be, especially on independent ATM deployers, remains to be seen.
At the ATM Industry Association's 10th annual U.S. conference last week in Nashville, Tenn., the changing economy was on everyone's mind. The economic downturn — finally defined as an official recession — has steepened over the last six months.
Debbie Bianucci, president and chief executive of the Banking Administration Institute and a participant on a panel that highlighted future financial trends affecting the ATM industry, says the economic climate has worsened since November, when BAI hosted its annual Retail Delivery Conference & Expo in Orlando, Fla.
That climate has influenced attendance numbers at numerous trade shows and fairs, and BAI's RD and ATMIA's U.S. conference have been no exceptions. Attendance at ATMIA's event — one that was expected to mark an exciting decade for the ATM association — was down about 16 percent, with 481 attendees, from 2008. But show exhibitors and attendees said they generally felt the show was worth their while.
And despite looming economic woes, most ATM companies are finding opportunities.
An increased and more stringent regulatory environment is the exception. Tighter guidelines for credit-card associations and issuing FIs are impacting a number of federal regulations: including Reg E, the electronic-funds-transfer regulation; Reg Z, the truth-in-lending regulation, Reg AA, the unfair-or-deceptive-acts-or-practices regulation; and Reg DD, the truth-in-savings regulation. The problem: No one knows how or when the government will implement the changes, says Ky Tran-Trong, counsel for the Division of Consumer and Community Affairs at the Federal Reserve Board.
"Many of these proposed changes relate to implementing efforts to ease the burden of (credit-card) payments for consumers," Trong said. "These changes will also dictate the fees that can be charged to consumers for late fees and APR on card balances" — both of which could directly impact ATMs.
"Right now, the regulatory changes do not require the ATM to notify the consumer in real-time when an overdraft will occur," he said. "But the regulation does require that the consumer be notified of the overdraft fee itself."
And if the confusion regarding overdraft-fee notification wasn't enough, Trong went on to say that changes from the Fed could be so far-reaching they could impact remote-deposit-capture.
Luckily, none of the regulations are expected until 2010, but given recent economic upheaval, coupled with the federal government's lack of regulatory focus, Trong says it's hard to know if some things could be pushed sooner.
The Fed is accepting comments and questions related to the regulatory changes, with deadlines ranging from March 30 (for Reg E) to Jan. 1, 2010 (for Reg DD) and July 1, 2010 (for Regs Z and AA). For more information, visit the Fed's Web site.
On an ATM upside
Beyond the heavy regulatory talk, which opened the conference on Wednesday, a number of ATM players had positive messages to share, including record-transactional highs for the months of January and February, the release of new ATM products and models, and a renewed or redirected focus on a certain ATM brand or corporate image. ATM deployers, manufacturers and the third-party providers that cater to them are finding opportunity for growth, diversification and new pursuits of interest.
"I definitely think this economy will bring opportunity," said Bianucci, who participated in the future-trends panel led by ATM Marketplace. "The problem is, things are changing so much, it's hard to predict what banks and others in the financial space will be focusing on. Even since November, we've seen the economy dip. The things we were talking about then and thought we would see by now have completely shifted."
So speculation abounds.
Peter Kulik, assistant vice president of product management for Fifth Third Processing Solutions, says he sees an uptick in FIs' interest in outsourcing, and in many cases selling their entire ATM fleets to third parties for operation and maintenance. Others, like Patrick Wright, chief executive of Wincor Nixdorf Inc. (USA) and another participant on the ATM Marketplace future-trends panel, say they see FIs and ISOs working together in some way, but it will be a long-time coming.
Story continues below...
Pendum- The Nation's Largest Independent Service provider for ATMs
We offer single-source solutions for ATM equipment sales, upgrades, projects and service on all major ATM brands.
On the manufacturing side, OEMs say they see some technology convergences among FIs and ISOs, and manufacturers are stepping outside their comfort zones to appeal to a more diverse ATM prospect.
Wincor Nixdorf and NCR Corp. are prime examples. Both companies, though predominant in the FI ATM space, have for some time offered ATM solutions geared more toward retail. And it seems the timing for these two players is finally right.
For Wincor, the ProCash 1500 and the SlimCash, introduced about 18 months ago, are garnering attention from ISOs.
For NCR, which recently announced plans to discontinue two legacy Tidel ATMs it had integrated into the NCR EasyPoint retail ATM line, a deal with a company called Ready Credit Corp. is starting to get ISOs' attention.
Since 2006, NCR has been the manufacturer of Ready Credit's readySTATION card-dispensing kiosk. The kiosk accepts cash and then loads it on to an un-embossed card that is immediately dispensed. Brian Hedberg, executive vice president of Ready Credit, says ATMIA is one of the first shows where the readySTATION has been displayed and demoed for ISOs.
"We've had some great success with Macy's and other retailers, so we brought it to this show to show ISOs how they can have success with prepaid-card issuance as well," he said. "It could enhance the ISO offering."
All of the readySTATIONs rely on wireless communications, and Ready Credit's readyCARD application allows the machines to dispense Visa-branded and MasterCard-branded cards.
"When the generic card is issued, the user is given a PIN number for purchases or to withdraw funds at the ATM," Hedberg said. "Users can always check their account balances on their cards using one of the kiosks or by going online, or we can text their balances to them."
Ready Credit also is working with CheckFree Pay for a self-service bill-payment service at its kiosks.
On the show floor
At the Triton booth, the new RL1600 was introduced. It's an entry-level ATM designed for the entry-level retail market. Daryl Cornell, who replaced Bill Johnson as Triton's general manager at the end of 2007, says the RL1600 is expected to go into production in March and will immediately be marketed in Canada and the United States.
"We feel that this product compares with our competitors' products," he said.
The RL1600 is a Windows-based, TCP/IP ATM.
Triton also announced plans for its "Great ($500) Rebate" offer for FIs that buy Triton's FT 7000 ATM with envelope- or automated-deposit functionality. It marks the first time Triton has ever offered a rebate to FIs.
Triton, like its competitors Tranax Technologies, WRG and GRG Banking Equipment Co. Ltd., focused its show attention on new ATM products at a competitive price point.
On the Nautilus Hyosung America Inc. side, executives said they are still waiting for final Department of Justice approval of the Triton acquisition. The deal is still expected to close by the second quarter of the year. Until a final from the DOJ is passed down, Cornell will oversee the Triton shop.
Nautilus says it sold more than 20,000 ATMs in North America last year.
GRG Banking, which has reignited its U.S. push through its relationship with Global Cash Services and the newly created GRG International, demoed its new E300L, which the company in November introduced to the U.S. market at BAI's RD show.
 |
|
The GRG E300L ATM
|
"We showed a pre-production version of the E300L at BAI and at ATMIA," said Brian Kett, president of GRG International. "It's in full production in China, and at the end of this month we are prepared to go into full production in the U.S."
Designed for the off-premises market, the E300L comes standard with a 10.4-inch color display, a Windows OS and a dip card-reader.
GRG also showed its next-generation H38N, which includes changes that make it more ideal for Western markets.
"All of GRG's products for the bank business are part of the H series. GRG has added an N at the end of all of its series to show that this is the next-generation equipment that we are launching in the U.S.," Kett said. "It has all the features and functionality that we think are going to be very competitive in North America, but it will be launched globally."
One difference: The H38N can come as a drive-up unit — ideal for the North American market, but not really a selling point for Europe and Asia. It also includes a 15-inch color touchscreen and a full line of plug-and-play peripherals, such as a check scanner.
GRG International will be the driving force behind GRG Banking in Western markets such as the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Australia and South Africa.
"GRG International really represents the first significant effort to move into a number of Western markets," Kett said. "In 2008, they were the No. 1 manufacturer of all bank machines in China. We have been working with them in various ways for a little more than a year now, to see how we should enter these Western markets."
Tranax, now under the ownership and management of Korea-based Eltna Corp., displayed new check-imaging technology and a new through-the wall ATM
WRG's new wares? A compact, easy-to-move ATM that can comes standard with an electronic or key-accessible lock. The Apollo LT, which hit the market in September, is WRG's first ATM introduction since it launched its Genesis line in 2007. The Apollo can hold up 1,000 notes and can come as a bracket-mounted ATM or a countertop unit. To date, WRG has deployed about 300 of the Apollo units in the field.
 |
|
Talaris NMD 100e is an enhanced version of its NMD 100, which was released to the market during the mid-1990s.
|
The new dispenser also has a smart-bill-reverse mechanism that returns bills back into a cassette, rather than a mere holding cell, after each transaction. All of the cash remains closed in the cycle.
The NMD 100e will hit the market in August.
User Comments