Article
European ATMS 2015: A great conference pointing to a better future
ATMIA Europe Executive Director Ron Delnevo recaps the annual ATM industry event held last week in London.
June 23, 2015 by Ron Delnevo — Chairman, Cash and Card World
Is every successive annual conference inevitably the best ever? Would an article ever be written about a conference if it were not?
Of course, when a date is included in the title, it is easier to justify the "Best Ever" tag. So it was clearly the "best ever" in 2015 or, even more specifically, the best ever in June 2015.
Luckily, in the case of European ATMs 2015, there is no need for hyperbole. It very clearly was the best ever such event staged in Europe — both the conference itself and the associated trade exhibition, which showcased innovations by many ATM Industry Association members.
Conferences are very unlike sports. In most sporting activity, it is better to finish well than to start well. To apply an old golfing adage, "start for show, finish for dough."
Conferences, however, must start well. A poor start leads to the audience switching off and, once they have done so, rebooting is most times impossible. A polymer note emblazoned "Bad Conference," once created in the minds of the audience, is very hard to destroy.
European ATMs started brilliantly and if it couldn't possibly get better, certainly maintained that standard throughout.
For the first time ever, the ATMIA's flagship European event (jointly operated with RBR) opened with a keynote address from a celebrity speaker from outside the ATM industry.
Andrew Neil, editor, publisher, broadcaster and business leader, was the celebrity in question. Andrew's CV is so long that a whole article would be needed to do it justice. Suffice to say, he is a man who has unrivalled experience in his fields of activity. He has also walked and talked with stars of the media and politics, without being dazzled by either their smiles or their rhetoric.
Neil's speech was both highly entertaining — laughter was never far from the lips of his audience of 600 plus ATM industry professionals — and thought provoking. He closely linked strong leadership with innovation, highlighting that the most important innovations are mould-breakers, rather than incremental improvements on existing designs.
He also convincingly put the case that some of the most valuable innovations of recent times had initially been dismissed as unworkable by observers. Sky Television, a business now valued at 15 billion pounds ($23l.6), was a prime example that he quoted. Commentators proclaimed when Sky was launched that the public did not need or want hundreds of TV channels. The public decided otherwise.
When Neil sat down to enthusiastic applause, most in the audience no doubt felt that he was a hard act to follow. However, Diebold CEO Andy Mattes rose to his feet clearly undaunted.
Mattes demonstrated a 20-20 vision of the future with his talk on how bank branches and the services linked to them would change over the next few years. No one listening could have failed to be impressed. Andy is clearly a leader who Andrew Neil would admire.
So the conference was off to a great start. The big hitters hit home runs — and neither pace nor quality dropped over the next two days.
I can only write about my own favorite presentations. So here we go:
I really enjoyed the clarity and frankness of Lars Lundqvist's presentation on enhancing profitability of ATMs in Sweden. He did not attempt to hide the warts, and his words were made invaluable as a result.
Then there was a brilliant exposition by Peter Tilton of ANZ Australia, confirming the Usain Bolt-like growth of contactless payments "down under." Peter also highlighted the highly creative "GAYTM" concept developed by his bank. A wonderful presentation.
Cash recycling is a Big Issue for me, so I was delighted to listen to a joint presentation by FOBISS and Alfa-Bank. The subject matter was the whole spectrum of cash management, but I was particularly interested in the benefits of recycling of cash highlighted by Maxim Dareshin, head of self-service systems development at what is Russia's largest bank.
Maxim revealed that uptime has increased 3.5 percent since recycling of cash was introduced at the bank's ATMs, with, on average, 50 percent of the cash dispensed provided by depositors. These are stats to interest everyone and speed up the introduction of cash recycling ATMs in every market.
I only have space here to showcase two more presentations, though many more deserve an honorable mention.
The importance of cash in disaster response operations was dramatically demonstrated by James Shepherd-Barron, son of John, the inventor of the world's first ATM.
The younger Shepherd-Barron is a renowned consultant in the field of disaster management. He revealed that he has carried backpacks of cash into some of the most dangerous places on our planet, and he challenged the industry to provide a cash-delivery solution that does not need to be strapped to his body!
We at the ATMIA will be working with our members to try to identify an ATM-based solution that can lessen the burden of James and others who carry out similar work. It is clear that getting cash quickly to those who have lost everything must be a top priority for all who really care.
The final presentation I will highlight was made by ATMIA CEO Mike Lee. Mike has spent many months researching currency in circulation statistics from 25 countries. His findings? During the period 2009 — 2013, currency in circulation across the 25 markets grew on average year-on-year by a staggering 8.9 percent. This compares with general economic growth rates of under 3 percent per annum in the same period.
Lee concluded his presentation by stating, "Cash is here to stay." Based on his research, few sensible people will disagree with this conclusion.
I have picked a few of my own highlights to illuminate this article. In truth, however, the conference did much to both inform and lift the spirits of the entire European ATM industry.
Almost every speaker focused on innovation, on the positive road ahead. Presenters spoke of progress and development, of the place cash has in the hearts of the public and in the future of our planet.
Of course, the good future everyone talked about at the conference has to be worked for — earned.
The ATMIA, working with our members, will play an important part in the hard work that lies ahead. Both ATMs and cash need to be promoted, in the same way other parts of the payment industry are promoted. The ATMIA can provide a strong, effective voice for the industry, so long as funding can be found to broadcast that voice.
At European ATMs 2015, the message from the ATMIA was clear. We are pro-ATM, pro-payment choice, and pro-cash. All ATM industry pro-fessionals will surely applaud that stance.
About Ron Delnevo
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ATM Industry Association (ATMIA)
The ATM Industry Association, founded in 1997, is a global non-profit trade association with over 10,500 members in 65 countries. The membership base covers the full range of this worldwide industry comprising over 2.2 million installed ATMs.
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