A longtime goal of ATM Industry Association (ATMIA) International Director Mike Lee is for the organization to have a chapter anywhere ATMs are found.

These days, that's just about everywhere.

With a current presence on four continents -- North America, Europe, Africa and Australia/Asia -- ATMIA this year approved the creation of two new satellite chapters.

Mischa Weisz, president and chief executive of Toronto-based TNS Smart Network, is organizing ATMIA Canada. Jorge Fernandez, president and CEO of Miami-based Capture Systems, is spearheading an effort to launch ATMIA Latin America.

New markets

Like ATM manufacturers and other vendors, ATMIA is looking to new and developing markets to fuel its future growth, Lee said.

"As mature markets see consolidation, we are able to pick up business in emerging markets to compensate for the gradual shrinking of the universe of potential members when mergers and acquisitions happen in more mature markets," he said.

Starting a new chapter takes "pioneering spirit and drive," Lee said. "You need people like Mischa and Jorge with passion and commitment to help get the message out on the ground."

ATMIA's entry into new regions often goes hand-in-hand with the entry of non-bank deployers, Lee said. While many financial institutions are members of trade groups like the American Bankers Association or the Canadian Bankers Association, there are few comparable opportunities for independents.   ISOs also generally drive a healthy increase in ATMs. In the U.S., for instance, more than 200,000 of the country's 352,000 ATMs have been deployed since 1996, when the advent of surcharging led to a wave of ISOs entering the market.

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"We want to support (independents) because competition is good, and our mission is to promote the proliferation of ATMs around the world," Lee said.

Association for all

Weisz and Fernandez hope to attract both financial institutions and ISOs, as well as other industry players such as transaction processors, to the new chapters.

"Issuers and acquirers haven't established a proper dialogue, so there has been a void" in Canada, Weisz said. He believes mutual concerns over ATM security present an opportunity for the two groups to work together.

"Interac (Canada's national ATM network) has issued some new rules that need to be understood and interpreted properly," he said. "There is a real interest and momentum now to get things done."

A representative from Interac is on the slate of speakers for an ATMIA-sponsored workshop, "Making Risk Management Work for ATMs," on June 18 at Toronto's Metropolitan Hotel.

The event, which kicks off with a June 17 cocktail reception, will also include speakers from Visa Canada, MasterCard Canada, NCR and American Special Risk.

The workshop was originally scheduled for May 12-13 but was rescheduled due to concerns over SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome).

"You've got a better chance of getting hit by a car than of catching SARS in Toronto," Weisz said, "but the weather will be nicer in June anyway."

Fernandez said an ATMIA Latin America chapter cannot move forward without financial institutions, as they dominate the market. His company, Capture Systems, which has more than 1,000 ATMs under contract in several Latin American countries, is the only major independent in the region.

In fact, Fernandez said he may enlist someone else to lead recruitment efforts in Latin America in the coming months, as he doesn't want financial institutions to question his motives.

"They associate my name with off-premise deployment, which scares them a little," he said. "So they are saying 'Why are you in this?'"

He is concentrating his initial recruitment efforts on EFT networks. He believes they are a logical starting point because there are generally only one or two major networks per country - such as Mexico's Prosa and Panama's Clave.

The networks are owned by banks and thus are qualified to represent bankers' interests, Fernandez said.

Like Weisz, Fernandez believes that security concerns can be a unifying issue for ATM deployers. "It's one of the issues of common interest we are pushing. The biggest challenge is getting the players together at the same table to discuss it," he said.

They're special

Both men say their markets have unique needs that can be best addressed by a regional chapter of ATMIA.

"We intend to work closely with ATMIA North America to share our knowledge base and expertise, but each country is unique," Weisz said. "Our network (Interac) has very specific rules and we want to work with them and with our government on regulatory concerns."

Fernandez's challenge is in effectively representing the Latin American ATM market, which differs widely from country to country. To do so, he hopes to recruit at least one member from each country.

"There is a common language, but other than that, every market is completely different," he said. "While that will be difficult, I think there are common issues and it will be good to present them through a common voice."

New blood also benefits the parent association, Lee said.

"Our international board gains valuable input from the new regions, and we are able to spread best practices for the industry further afield. We get new members and sponsors and strengthen our credibility as the only international trade association for the ATM industry."