ONTARIO, Calif. - Co-Op Network has signed a branding agreement with TRM Corporation, placing 1,000 ATMs in The Pantry and Cumberland Farms convenience stores stretching from Maine to Florida.
The ATMs, supplied by Portland, Ore.-based TRM, will begin wearing the Co-Op Network logo within the next 60 days. At that time, the machines will become part of the largest credit union ATM network in the country and will be surcharge-free to the 18.5 million cardholders from Co-Op Network's nationwide credit union membership.
The agreement will help Co-Op Network bolster its ATM and brand presence along the East Coast and into the Southeast. For TRM, the agreement provides financial considerations from Co-Op Network while adding value to its merchant-client relationships.
"Increasing ATM transaction volume puts money in our merchants' registers," said TRM Executive Vice President Dan Tierney. "Co-Op Network's substantial cardholder base and expanding eastern credit union membership can boost ATM transactions and consumer traffic in our merchants' stores."
Co-Op Network boasts 1,703 member credit unions nationally, with nearly 450 in the eastern portion of the U.S. With the TRM deal, members will have access to nearly 19,000 surcharge-free ATMs.
Co-Op has similar ATM access agreements with eFunds and with the Publix grocery store chain. (See related stories Publix ATMs now part of Co-Op Network and FIs Getting Brand Conscious)
CO-OP Network CEO Robert Rose said the well-known brand names of The Pantry and Cumberland Farms chains are a key part of the deal. "It's advantageous when we can direct our cardholders to familiar chain stores that house our ATMs," he said. "This agreement with TRM helps us substantially broaden our corporate reach in 16 states while helping TRM and its retail partners increase revenues and foot traffic."
