How can ATM operators ensure that consumers have a pleasurable and meaningful experience at the ATM? How can they ensure that users will continue coming back to their ATM locations, despite the fact that com-petition for consumer attention in the ATM space is fiercer than ever before?

 

The answer to those questions is two-fold. ATMs have to be convenient. They have to be readily accessible and easy to use. They also must be attractive, meaning they appeal to the customer and garner attention.

 

ATMs need to appeal to the senses. The way an ATM operates is important, but so is the way it looks and feels. A dirty ATM that’s located in a cluttered corner of a convenience store is not likely to get many transactions.

 

While ATMs can’t really appeal to all five senses, they can appeal to four — sight, sound, touch and smell. What does your ATM look like? How does it sound when cash is dispensed or when the fan kicks on? And, yes, how does it smell? Is it clean and well-kempt? Users will notice, and deployers should, too.

 

Competition in the ATM space has heightened over the last five years. Market saturation has led to a significant and recurring drop in per-ATM transaction volume, and increases in the use of debit cards and cash back at the POS have only compounded the industry’s woes.

 

Even though total monthly ATM-transaction volume has fluctuated between 840 mil­lion transactions and 1.1 billion transactions over the course of the past decade, the per-ATM transaction volume has steadily decreased. As more ATMs have been deployed in the United States, it’s only logical that the per-ATM transaction volume would decline.

 

To combat dropping transactions, de­ployers are focusing more attention on consumer loyalty, branding and trust. Making their ATMs stand out plays a key role.

 

With that in mind, it is interesting to note that eight of the top 10 ATM owners/operators in the United States increased their ATM numbers over the last year, despite the ever-declining per-machine transaction volumes. While the two that reduced their ATM numbers did so only by 1 percent, the other eight increased their ATM fleets by more than 8 percent.

 

By examining what the top 10 U.S. ATM owners/operators are doing, other finan­cial institutions, and even independent deployers and retailers, can develop similar strategies to strengthen their own ATM businesses.

 

Why in a time of declining per-ATM transaction volume would the industry leaders continue to increase their ATM fleets? First, they have found additional benefits in having large ATM networks. Secondly, they are effectively branding every ATM they deploy.

 

“The leaders in ATM deployments make the most of their ATMs by projecting their brand at every location,” said Al Tiley, president of Companion Systems Design&Manufacturing, provider of ATM surrounds, enclosures and sig­nage products. “Whether their ATMs are located on- or off-site, their brand is prominently displayed in the style and colors that surround their ATMs. When customers happen by, they are immedi­ately impacted by the brand.”