Branch Transformation

Are multifunctional ATMs finally taking off?

For years, multifunctional ATMs have been the talk of the town, but results have been disappointing. Are these devices finally ready for primetime?

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October 23, 2026 by Bradley Cooper — Editor, Connect Media

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For decades now, one of the top questions in the ATM industry has been: when will multifunctional ATMs finally take off? Although they are beginning to show up in limited forms, they are often tied to specific banks. In the independent ATM deployer space, some question whether going multifunctional is really worth it.

Jorge Fernandez, industry veteran and managing director of Magnus Consulting Inc., who has worked with Bitstop, said in a phone interview with ATM Marketplace that multifunctional ATMs have drawn skepticism due to older, less successful efforts.

Early adopter struggles

One of the predecessors to advanced ATMs was known as V-Com. "It was the size of half a wall. It cost $50,000 dollars." First installed at 7-Eleven, it could perform money remittance, money orders, prepaid cards and regular ATM functions.

However, he said that this machine required huge amounts of resources. He said that when his company worked with V-Com, it would get "three service calls a month compared to once a year for an ATM."

Furthermore, in analyzing how customers used it, they found that up to 95% of all transactions were simple ATM transactions, which cheaper ATMs could easily perform. As a result, the project was suspended.

Over the years, other potential technologies came about to work with ATMs, such as digital signage toppers. But none really took off in a significant way, according to Fernandez.

"People in the ATM industry became negative about it," he said.

What changed?

Fernandez pointed out that several factors changed in the wider self-service space that brought ATMs closer to multifunction. First of all, industries began embracing it, such as airlines pushing fliers to go to kiosks to print out boarding passes and luggage tags. Car rentals and hotels followed suit, integrating check-in kiosks.

Furthermore, the costs of multifunctional kiosks began to go down from the $50,000 V-Com to $10,000. The onset of smartphones in the early 2000s also made customers more familiar and comfortable doing many things without the aid of a human.

"A consumer who normally went to a human to pay bills was no longer uncomfortable going to a kiosk," Fernandez said

Lastly, APIs made it much easier for kiosks to integrate different functionality. Fernandez noted that prior to this it would "take the help of God to do a back office connection." Now, through APIs, inter-connectivity becomes far easier to integrate payments and other features, which in turn lowered prices.

Who will put the pieces together?

Fernandez said one of the biggest issues now is who will put everything together to really bring the multifunctional ATM to the forefront.

One big barrier is how the banks and IADs view multifunctional ATMs. Fernandez said that for banks, they view it as a piece of customer service and as pushing teller services to an ATM. But these features remain only accessible to customers of the bank.

Meanwhile, independent ATM deployers have to consider how upgrading will impact their business and capabilities.

"They are going from a $5,000 machine to a $10,000 machine that is far more complicated," Fernandez said. They also have to consider far more attributes, such as compliance, connectivity and keeping everything organized.

Fernandez said that these functionalities are being added in different ways across different spaces. Bitcoin ATM operators such as Bitstop enable crypto payments alongside traditional ATM features, while Cash Depot is adding cash recycling and deposits.

Is the future in retail?

One possibility is that retailers will be big innovators in the multifunctional ATM space, especially if they can take over for service desks.

"Retailers are all about innovation and foot traffic," Fernandez said. Currently, many of their customer service desks offer cash, checks and bill payments, which could be replaced by a 24/7 self-service financial kiosk. Gas stations such as Circle K, which put out an RFP for multifunctional ATM operators, also are looking at adding these services.

He pointed to several companies that are doing work in this space. Zyng Technologies Inc., is one example, which is crafting multifunctional financial kiosks. The big players, such as Hyosung, created Hyosung Pay for bill pay and money transfers, although it lives on Hyosung ATMs.

Is multifunctional the future?

Currently, Fernandez believes there will not be one killer app, but rather a group of killer apps that will make integration of bill pay, money orders and other financial services into ATMs cheaper and easier. AI tools also can help operators close the gap.

He further stated that those in the traditional or crypto ATM industry should start making the transition towar a more advanced self-service banking solution. Bitstop,for example, is aiming to establish kiosks that offer traditional ATM services, alongside cryptocurrency and other services, depending on regulations.

"We are coming to a new market, we are no longer an ATM business, no longer a BTM business, we are a multifunctional ATM business," he said. Furthermore, he added that single-purpose devices won't survive in the coming years.

About Bradley Cooper

Bradley Cooper is an experienced editor for Connect Media. He has written across a wide range of beats, ranging from food to digital signage to banking, and is the current editor of ATM Marketplace and Food Truck Operator. His background is in information technology, advertising, and writing. When he’s not crafting a story, you can find him going for a run or spending time with his wife and three sons.

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