Despite rise in units, ATM transactions drop

Despite the fact that a mass deployment of terminals continues, the number of ATM transactions has dropped in the U.S., according to the latest study released by "Bank Network News."

Rising by 21 percent, the number of ATMs climbed to 227,000 units as of March 1999 from 187,000 machines as of June 1998, according to the Bank Network News' survey.

However, the number of transactions dropped by approximately 2 percent from 930 million as of June 1998 to 907 million as of March 1999, according to Bank Network News.

Average monthly transactions per ATM dropped from 4,973 per ATM as of June 1998 to 3,997 transactions per unit as of March 1999, according to the survey.

According to another survey by Speer & Associates, the average monthly transaction per card rose by 7 percent from 1997 to 1998 -- 58 to 62 transactions.

Speer & Associates attributes the drop in average monthly ATM transactions to surcharging and the rise in the number of off-premise ATMs. Despite the rise in off-premise ATMs, the Speer & Associates' survey showed that 71 percent of the transaction volume still hails from on-premise ATMs.