LONDON — Level Four Software Ltd. says nearly a quarter of European banks say addressing ATM downtime is a top priority for the next 12-18 months, highlighting the pressure banks face with the ongoing maintenance of their ATMs.
Level Four collected information for its survey during the ATM Industry Association's European conference.
Level Four says banks should look to improved management and ATM-network through intelligent ATM monitoring to cut down-time.
According to Level Four, network availability is one of the most pressing ATM issues facing banks today, primarily a result of the migration to the Windows and the introduction of multivendor software.
Level Four's ATMIA delegate survey reveals that 22 percent of the banks represented at the European conference still see 'reducing ATM downtime' as their top priority, while 21 percent see 'rolling out new customer services' as a next top ATM priority.
"Talk within the ATM industry has focused on visionary multivendor strategies and the role of the ATM in multichannel banking, which we fully support," said Ian Karr, chief executive of Level Four. "But our delegate survey highlights the real problem that banks face today with regards to their ATM networks. Banks are still struggling to get their basics right; if they can't successfully tackle ATM-network availability, they will find it increasingly difficult to introduce any new revenue-generating services that will retain and attract new customers."
Other priorities banks say they expect to address over the next 12 to 18 months include:
- Pursuing/executing a multivendor strategy (17 percent)
- Upgrading to new IT infrastructures, such as a Windows operating platform (16 percent)
- Integrating the ATM channel with other banking channels (16 percent)
- Other (8 percent), mainly security
