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Advanced options at NACS
Retail ATMs will do more than just dispense cash, if the ATM companies showing their wares at this week's NACS Show can convince store owners to try check cashing and other advanced applications.
October 22, 2001
The ATM industry hit the Las Vegas Convention Center floor with new products, new applications and new opportunities at the NACS Show on Oct. 22.
NCRshowcased the Personas 78, an advanced function ATM and check-cashing machine it originally developed with convenience store chain 7-Eleven.
"This reaffirms our commitment to the market when InnoVentry failed," said Mark Leinenkugel, NCR's director of self-service business development, referring to the shuttering of automated check-casher InnoVentry last month. "We've been at this quite some time with 7-Eleven and recognize how complex this is."
Tritonunveiled the 9800, its first PC-based ATM, which runs off a Windows 2000 operating system. The system features a 10-gigabyte hard drive, an Intel Celeron processor and an 80-milimeter thermal printer. According to Triton, check cashing and other advanced functionality could be offered via a sidecar attachment.
Anita Nobles Arguelles, Triton's senior product manager, said the PC functionality of the 9800 will make it Triton's most versatile ATM yet. "It makes it a whole lot easier for us to work with new applications and grow with the marketplace," she said.
The 9800, which has audio capabilities to comply with proposed changes to the Americans with Disabilities Act, is still in the pre-product pilot phase, Arguelles said, and will probably ship in February of 2002.
In addition to the 9800, Triton exhibited the 9700, an updated version of the 9600 that also complies with all proposed ADA requirements. The ATM, which is not PC-based, has a seven-inch color monitor.
Tidel Technologiesshowed several enhancements to its Chameleon, a PC-based machine and its highest-end product, including an SEAC check scanning device.
"We continue to further the development of the Chameleon and believe that we have created the best platform for delivering advanced functionality in the retail market," said Mike Hudson, the company's executive vice president. "In 2002, we expect to deliver value-oriented solutions to the marketplace for such items as check cashing, money order issuance and lottery applications."
Like Triton's 9800, Tidel's Chameleon offers an audio port that allows visually impaired users to use a headset to hear voice-guided instructions for ATM transactions.
Another company seeking to fill the void left by InnoVentry isATM America, an ISO which was seeking to interest retailers in a check-cashing machine manufactured byNubanc.
"There are a lot of locations out there that are proven locations," said Vance Rowland, ATM America's vice president of sales and marketing. "It's a matter of getting people comfortable with Nubanc."
Rowland said the Nubanc machine, which offers ATM and check-cashing services, money orders and phone cards, has a base price of $32,000.
ATM America has deployed one Nubanc machine near its office in Columbia, S.C. While Rowland said the company was almost ready to begin aggressively marketing the machine, he would not commit to a date for a major deployment.
At the opposite end of the retail spectrum from the high-end Personas 78, NCR showed its EasyPoint 53 ATM, which started shipping in mid-October. According to NCR, the EasyPoint 53 is designed for locations generating less than 50 transactions per day but can break even at less than 10 percent of that volume.
At just 24 inches high and 18 ½ inches wide and deep, the machine can be installed at small convenience stores and other locations that can't spare the space for a larger ATM.
"It's designed to be flexible in placement," said Sherif Seddik, NCR's director of marketing and business development. "It's an ATM you can place on a counter or place on a pedestal or place on a wall mount."
Additional features that differentiate the EasyPoint 53 from other products in its class include its Pentium II processor and 7 ½-inch color screen, according to NCR.
Other ATM companies that exhibited at NACS included Automated Financial LLC,Hanco Systems,Armor Safe Technologies,Concord EFS,Cardtronics,E*Trade ATM,Financial Technologies, Lynk Systems, Specialty Roll Products andICI Security Systems.
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Triton Systems
Triton FI based products • NO Windows 10™ Upgrade • Secured locked down system that is virus/malware resistant • Flexible configurations - Drive-up and Walk-up • Triton's high security standards • NFC, anti-skim card reader, IP camera and level 1 vaults are all options • Triton Connect monitoring • Lower cost
