Most software designers don't know squat about the retail ATM business.

Mike Stevenson, vice president of Willoughby, Ohio-based distributor WRG Services, contends that most ISOs today don't want an ATM with Internet access or other advanced features. Instead, he said, they want a rugged and reliable performer with a low price tag and enough functionality for couponing and some on-screen advertising.

In an effort to meet those needs, Stevenson last year created and began selling a cash dispenser called the Fast Cash. Powered by a Verifone 490 terminal, it had just four easy-to-service components. To drive the machine, WRG employees Jason Kuhn and Oliver Winter designed C.A.S.S. (Complete Access Software Solution), an ISO-friendly software package with features designed to address such common problems as paper jams and power outages.

"We wanted to eliminate the service calls and give the route operator the information they needed to do the job correctly, as opposed to some software designer that's building in functionality that he thinks is important," Stevenson said.

The Fast Cash was a "workhorse," Kuhn said, but there was room for improvement.

So WRG retooled the design to give the machine a curvier, more modern look. They also added an external 33.6 modem and switched from the Verifone terminal to Hypercom's ICE 6000, which has a 6-inch color touch screen more suitable for advertising graphics.

"It has a 256-color display just like a Tidel is1000, Triton 9600 or Cross MiniBank 2000," Kuhn said, adding that it supports up to 20 screen graphics and three coupons.

The result: the Vision 100, which Stevenson calls his "dream machine." He is so convinced of its merits that he gave one away in a prize drawing at the recent ATM Industry Association conference in Florida.

According to Kuhn, the dial-up machines favored by most ISOs fall into two categories: higher-end, PC-based machines with ample memory and high-speed printers and lower-end machines based around a POS terminal that offer little if any graphics capabilities. While the higher-end machines offer more functionality, they are also more expensive and harder to maintain.

The Hypercom ICE 6000 allows WRG to "slam those two worlds together," Kuhn said, offering higher-end features at "a price point that's probably $1,000 less than a comparable Triton or Tidel."

WRG is the first company to use the ICE 6000 in an ATM application. O.B. Rawls, Hypercom's senior vice president and general manager for the U.S. and Canada, said the terminal's "ability to turn what has generally been a single-function device into a multi-function device" makes it appropriate for ATM deployers who are interested in offering advertising and some functionality beyond cash dispensing.

The touch screen is a natural for the off-site ATM world, Rawls added. "They're dependable, they're durable, and they look great."

Stevenson wanted to load his machines with standard features that are more commonly upgrade options on other retail ATMs.

One such feature is a Sargent and Greenleaf electronic lock. Tom Hartmann, vice president of Sargent and Greenleaf's bank products division, said that while electronic locks are a common fixture on high-end ATMs favored by banks, they are as rare as surcharge-free machines in the retail market.

Yet electronic locks are a plus in the retail market because of their enhanced security features, he added. "Mechanical locks are cumbersome and slower to open. With an electronic lock, you have greater speed of access. You don't want to take a long time loading cash in an off-site environment."

With mechanical locks, a merchant or other cash handler must close the machine and leave the combination "dialed in" to secure the vault. It's not uncommon, Hartmann said, for them to simply close the door and skip the dialing step so they can get to the vault more easily. Called "day locking," the practice obviously poses some security risks.

An electronic lock, however, automatically secures itself when the vault door is properly closed. "Because it's so much easier to open with electronics, they don't mind having to enter the combination every time," Hartmann said.

Electronic locks also offer more flexibility in changing combinations, Hartmann said. "A merchant or service provider can change it right at the key pad."

Another standard feature is WRG's remote monitoring software program that can help deployers avoid the dreaded downtime. Using the basic package, a deployer can access balances and error codes from any PC.

WRG also is offering a "fuller featured" version, Kuhn said, that includes a graphics editing function. "(Deployers) can import any photo, and the software will automatically correct the color palette and make it the right file size and type for the ATM."

He knows deployers want this capability, Kuhn said, because distributors email him photos, logos and letterheads and ask for help converting them to ATM-friendly formats. "The majority of distributors aren't that computer savvy and just didn't want to tackle formatting the graphics themselves. But we've made it easy for them with this software."

WRG is seeking distributors for the Vision 100, which they plan to begin shipping later this month.

WRG will maintain an inventory of both Tidel and NCR equipment in addition to its own machine, Stevenson said, but "certainly we're going to push our product up front."