Self-Service Outsourcing
It’s understandable if ATM operators feel like they’re caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place. While a stream of regulatory changes and technological upgrades batters the bottom line, market forces lead to lower transaction volumes and reduced fee income.
To combat these forces, financial institutions and credit unions are turning to new functionalities, such as mobile banking, automated deposits and billpay, to attract new customers and retain existing customers and members. However, that leads to greater complexity and management challenges in integrating branch, mobile and ATM channels for a seamless customer experience.
One industry insider compared managing all the constant upgrades and requirements in an ATM portfolio to "changing the engines on a 747 while it's flying at 35,000 feet." That portfolio must maintain high levels of uptime while implementing upgrades and enhancements in both behind-the-scenes and customer-facing aspects of the operation.
To manage these challenges, more and more ATM deployers are turning to trusted outsourcing partners for ATM management. Financial institutions and credit unions today are exploring more outsourcing opportunities to have a skilled ATM services provider handle some of the more time-consuming ATM procedures, such as transaction processing, remote management, cash optimization, service and regulatory compliance.
For instance, ATM operators in the United States must comply with regulations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that were updated in 2010 and will take effect March 15, 2012. The complexity of the requirements, and the potential for legal problems if they are not met, means many operators will seek expert advice on these issues.
This guide explores some of the problems financial institutions face today, as well as how ATM outsourcing can come to the rescue. FIs need to understand which aspects of an ATM portfolio can be outsourced, and they should have the tools to determine which company is best suited to meet their needs.
ATMmarketplace.com would like to thank Diebold Incorporated for its sponsorship of this guide, enabling us to provide it at no cost to our readers.
