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HOUSTON -- Results of a recently completed national research project reveal that among holders of checking or savings accounts, ethnic minorities lead U.S. consumers in the possession and usage of ATM cards.

Commissioned by PULSE EFT Association, one of the nation's leading shared electronic services networks, the wide-ranging study was conducted by Rice University marketing professor Richard R. Batsell through Analytica Inc., a Houston-based research organization. The study was based on interviews of more than 3,000 respondents in all 50 states.

The survey showed that among those with a checking or savings account,
almost 71 percent overall have an ATM card. But the data revealed a higher percentage of card ownership among ethnic minorities:
African American 76 percent
American Indian 75 percent
Asian 74 percent
Hispanic 82 percent
White 68 percent

Among individuals with checking or savings accounts, ethnic minorities further demonstrated their preference for ATM cards in that more than 58 percent of African Americans, 54 percent of American Indians, 59 percent of Asians and 64 percent of Hispanics chose ATMs as the most typical way they obtain cash.

Those numbers compare to 50 percent of the overall sample and 47 percent of Whites.

Batsell attributed the wide usage of ATM cards by minorities in part to age differences across ethnic populations. He noted that younger consumers typically are more likely to use ATM cards, and that proportionally there are more young people among the U.S. ethnic minority populations than among Whites. Research consistently documents that older people are less likely to use ATM cards.

Beyond the ethnic minority findings, the PULSE study documented
widespread public awareness of the multiple utility of ATM cards and heavy and sustained utilization of electronic systems.

• The cards have become such a widely known convenience that 74
percent of all respondents are aware that they can use their
cards at just about any ATM and 61 percent know they can be used
to purchase goods and services.

• Almost 70 percent of all interviewed have used a card at an ATM
and 40 percent have used a card to pay for purchases at a
POS terminal at a merchant location.

• Among all respondents interviewed, the most frequently used means
of obtaining cash is through ATMs.

• While an overwhelming majority of cardholders have used their ATM
cards at their own financial institutions (86 percent), the
ability to use the cards almost anywhere is evident in the survey
results. Nearly 69 percent of respondents say they have used
their cards elsewhere in their own state, 54 percent say they
have used them in other states and more than 15 percent say they
have used them in other countries.

"The data demonstrates the pervasive presence of the ATM card as the valued key to consumer convenience in modern day life," Batsell said. "It has become almost as important as a driver's license."

Other survey findings:

• When asked if they would be interested in using an ATM card for
purchases of goods and services, 66 percent of all surveyed --
both cardholders and non-cardholders -- answered "yes" and even
higher percentages of African Americans (77 percent) and
Hispanics (79 percent) said they would use them if they had them.

• Compared to Whites, several ethnic minorities are more likely to
use their ATM cards at shopping malls with 43 percent of African
Americans, 47 percent of Asians and 43 percent of Hispanics
reporting usage at least once during the last month, compared to
34 percent of the total population sample and 30 percent of
Whites.

• Among the entire sample surveyed, Asians ranked first in
ownership of a home computer and any use of the Internet with a
percentage of 68 and 59 respectively, compared to 54 percent and
46 percent for the total U.S. population. Other comparable
percentages for computer ownership/Internet use were African
American, 40/39; American Indian, 43/39; Hispanic, 39/34; and
Whites, 57/48.

• Brand recognition remains a valuable component in helping
consumers use their cards. Slightly more than 68 percent of
cardholders cite signs, symbols and logos on the ATM or their
card as a guide to where they can be used.

Batsell said that the research findings were gathered from 3,035
random-digit-dialed telephone interviews of persons 18 or older
across the U.S. from January through March of 1999. He stressed that the results are based on interviews where the proportion for each state paralleled that state's share of the U.S. population as a whole. The sample also reflects the known U.S. distribution by gender, ethnicity and age.

PULSE President and CEO Stan Paur noted that this latest study is another in a series of periodic PULSE-sponsored research projects to assess financial services industry trends and developments.