Wells Fargo Bank plans to expand its pilot of NCR Corp.'s mixed-media ATM deposit module that the manufacturer says significantly reduces the time it takes customers to make bank deposits.
"We have been piloting the module at 38 locations in the Boulder, Colo., area since January," said Richele J. Messick, a Wells Fargo spokesperson. "We plan to roll it out at more than 200 additional locations throughout Colorado. We are very happy with the results."
Messick praised NCR's Scalable Deposit Module that can accept a mixed bundle of up to 50 checks and banknotes in one deposit slot at intelligent deposit or envelope-free ATMs. The module also can accept separate deposits of 50 checks or 50 banknotes.
The module, which can be retrofitted for NCR's existing SelfServ 30 series of ATMs or purchased installed in new models, cuts deposit times because customers do not have to deposit bank notes into one slot and cash into another slot at an intelligent deposit ATM, said Bob Tramontano, the manufacturer's vice president of marketing.
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"Bank customers can make an average deposit of five banknotes and two checks in under 60 seconds," Tramontano said.
Banks can install the Scalable Deposit Module in lobby and drive-up machines. "Drive-up machines are absolutely important because they accept a significant portion of deposits," he said. "The module moves the queues along faster."
Mixed-media ATMs, however, have a downside compared with intelligent-deposit ATMs that have different slots to accept checks and cash, said Gil Luria, vice president of equity research at Webush Securities in Los Angeles.
"The drawback of this technology is that if the module goes down the ATM cannot take any deposits, while an ATM with separate slots for cash and checks can continue to take one form even if the other is not working," Luria said.
The technology, however, helps NCR, the world's largest ATM manufacturer based on yearly shipments.
"The module makes NCR competitive at banks that could only buy a mixed-media module from Wincor [Nixdorf AG]," Luria said. Wincor Nixdorf, which is based in Paderborn, Germany, introduced mixed-media deposit ATMs in December 2007.
Wells Fargo, which assisted NCR in the development of its Scalable Deposit Module for 18 months, also piloted Wincor Nixdorf's mixed bundle deposit ATM.
Tramontano said the Scalable Deposit Module would appeal to owners of small shops and convenience stores. The machine confirms the deposit amount, displaying check and banknote images. The customer presses a button to accept the transaction.
NCR is marketing the module worldwide, but primarily in the United States where there is still a high use of checks compared with other parts of the world. NCR is based in Duluth, Ga.
