Article

For ATM providers, mobile signals new opportunity

Mobile has changed the average ATM user’s needs, preferences and expectations, and these behaviors can mean new opportunities for ATM providers.

August 15, 2014

by Kristen Gramigna
CMO, BluePay

eMarketer predicts that the global smartphone audience will include 1.75 billion people by the end of this year, and many regions have reached a mobile penetration point of 100 percent, factoring for total mobile connectivity by way of smartphones, tablets and cell phones.

With such staggering figures indicating that nearly everyone is a mobile user to some extent, it’s only natural that ATMs and how consumers use them are affected. Here’s a look at how mobile has changed the average ATM user’s needs, preferences and expectations, and how the new behaviors of mobile consumers can signal new opportunities for ATM providers to deepen relationships and perceived value to the customer.

Real time, all the time. The availability of mobile technology has taken “real-time” information availability to the forefront of consumer expectations. In fact, smartphone users check their smartphones more than 100 times a day, according to Mary Meeker of Kleiner, Perkins, Caulfield & Byers.

Additionally, a recent survey by BankChoice Monitor confirmed that a majority of respondents want their bank to provide mobile banking options — particularly women, who tend to carry lower balances in their accounts than men.

By integrating the traditional “balance check” functionality of an ATM with a mobile banking app to deliver real-time data about a customer’s balance in light of transactional activity, ATMs are equipped to engage the customer in a way that is relevant, both at the ATM terminal and from a mobile device.

Adapting to changing currency. The role of the ATM will likely adapt with the changing mobile consumer — particularly as payment by way of digital wallet begins to take hold among the masses signaling new opportunities for ATMs.

For example, in China, where virtual and digital currency have become wildly popular as a mode of payment, the mobile app for BTC China (the nation's largest Bitcoin exchange) works in tandem with BTC ATMs: Consumers can use the ATM to buy and sell bitcoins in different currencies, inserting physical cash into the ATM in exchange for Bitcoin virtual currency.

ATMs as service portals.  Thanks to the popularity of smartphones and apps like Siri mobile, consumers are accustomed to having verbal communications with their mobile device.

ATM providers can deliver the same type of service to meet this mobile user’s expectations. Based on input from blind customers, for example, Barclay’s integrated voice assistance technology into its ATMs for customers who could not otherwise use the touch technology.

Using the same idea and “piggybacking” on the popularity of voice-based text, ATMs are poised to meet smartphone users with technology they are already accustomed to using.

Additionally, because the BankChoice Monitor survey indicated that many mobile apps offered by financial service providers don’t typically connect a customer directly with a representative, ATMs can enhance the user experience by offering a “chat” option that does just that, either with an offsite representative or one located in a nearby branch.

ATMs as context-based providers. Predictive technology has become a norm for the mobile customer, thanks in part to the popularity of mobile apps that use geolocation technology to meet the customer’s need based on the context of their physical location. (For example, Google Now uses geolocation technology to indicate places of interest based on search history and the likelihood of predicted behaviors — such as signaling possible lunch spots that are near a mobile user at the lunch hour).

ATMs can leverage geolocation-based information in the same manner by letting a mobile user know exactly where a terminal is located based on real-time movement, and even indicating any fees that may be associated with the terminal if it’s out of network.

Making the mobile app contextually appropriate based on predictive ATM usage can boost its value further, by for example, letting a mobile user know where the nearest ATM is located when he or she approaches a business, festival or event that doesn’t accept anything other than cash.

Though mobile device saturation may have increased the demands and expectations that customers now have for ATM providers, smartphone behaviors and ATM use aren’t contradictory.

By leveraging the mobile technology that smartphone and tablet users have come to rely upon in their everyday lives in order to deliver a more targeted and seamless customer experience, ATM providers can ensure that they remain relevant in the eyes of the mobile user.

Kristen Gramigna is chief marketing officer for merchant services provider BluePay (bluepay.com). She also serves on the company's board of directors. She has more than 15 years experience in the bankcard industry in direct sales, sales management and marketing.

cover photo courtesy a of doom | flickr