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BBVA will roll out NCR's new concept ATM in more cities across Spain

NCR's revolutionary ATM has a rotating screen that ensures customer privacy.

January 11, 2011

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA), a Madrid-based bank, today announced that it is deploying in major cities across Spain a revolutionary concept ATM manufactured by NCR Corp.

BBVA will install 200 ABIL ATMs this year in Madrid, Barcelona, Sevilla, Bilbao and other cities, said Vicente Amores, NCR global director for BBVA. The expanded deployment follows BBVA's installation of 20 ABIL ATMs last year in Madrid and Talavera de la Reina, Amores said.

NCR and its partners Fujitsu, BBVA and the design firm, IDEO, developed ABIL over the past two years after surveying ATM users to determine what they wanted in a machine. ABIL is an attempt to "humanize" the ATM to meet cardholder needs, which NCR said is a dramatic departure from traditional machines. On its website, NCR, which has its headquarters in Duluth, Ga., said its partners developed ABIL from the "user up instead of the components down."

The ATM is considered revolutionary for a number of reasons. It has an iPad-style touch screen that provides an intuitive interface displaying relevant service information, Amores said.

The ATM screen rotates 90 degrees to ensure customer privacy. Instead of customers standing in line behind the ATM user, possibly peering over his shoulder, the rotating screen enables the user to see the queue out of the corner of his eye.

The machine has a single slot that accepts cash, checks and passbooks. The same slot dispenses cash and receipts. In addition, ATM recognizes customers and based on past usage, not just by information contained on their bank cards.  As a result, the machine provides information relevant to the cardholder, including ATM-usage shortcuts, reducing the time the customer spends at the machine.

ABIL also has a large screen to display advertising.

The ATM also has a revolutionary look designed by IDEO, which is based in Palo Alto, Spain. Instead of the traditional of a big boxy ATM, ABIL has a sleek, streamlined design. Fujitsu wrote ABIL's software. 

"BBVA is constantly looking for ways to strengthen relations with its customers, and the project was not how to further automate the terminal, but how to humanize the machine," Amores said. "The result is a new self-service device based on three qualities: simple, human and flexible."

BBVA is a leading financial institution in Spain and the largest in Mexico. It is also the 15th largest commercial bank in the United States. The bank also holds a leading position in South America.