BILOXI, Miss. -- By the end of this year, all Triton ATMs will have the ability to talk.
Bill Jackson, Triton's chief technical officer, told those in attendance at the manufacturer's fourth annual Distributor Conference here that two new machines being introduced this fall will be equipped for audio-enabled transactions. The company's existing product lines, the 9600 and the Mako, will also become audio enabled by year end.
Jackson is representing Triton in talks with the federal government and advocacy groups seeking new, stricter regulations under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA). Based on those discussions, Jackson said he expects to see audio capabilities required on new ATMs by 2003, if not sooner.
Less certain, Jackson said, is whether the government will require modifications to existing ATMs. Of the approximately 325,000 ATMs in the U.S. today, Jackson estimated that only about 100 currently have audio capabilities.
Triton will produce a retrofit kit for distributors if necessary, Jackson told the crowd. Although he didn't estimate the cost of such a kit, he said that upgrading Triton products would likely cost less than modifying previous generations of other manufacturers' machines.
"The modularity of our machines will benefit us" if upgrades are mandated, Jackson said.
