Payments

Independent ATM deployers offer perspective into the industry

ATM Marketplace reached out to independent ATM deployers through social media groups to gain their perspectives on what the most challenging and rewarding parts of the business, as well as what technology tools they are using to make their jobs easier.

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

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Independent ATM deployers are at the front lines of cash access. By some estimates, they own up to 60% of all ATMs in the U.S. However, they lack some of the protects afforded banking ATMs, such as support of federal law enforcement during thefts, along with a lasting prejudice that they are a risk for money laundering.

ATM Marketplace reached out to independent ATM deployers through social media groups to gain perspectives on what the most challenging and rewarding parts of the business, as well as what technology tools they are using to make their jobs easier.

The biggest challenge

Multiple ATM operators pointed to one of the biggest challenges in the industry being finding locations, with OkATMs stating it as the top challenge.

This is backed up by other industry leaders, such as Todd McEwan, president of New England ATM. He stated in a podcast interview with ATM Marketplace that finding locations has become more challenging, as hotels and hospitality are moving away from cash. Top tier locations are now found in the cash heavy industry of cannabis dispensaries, which lack banking relationships due to cannabis still being illegal on the federal level.

An IAD operator, who asked to remain anonymous, said in an email interview that the biggest problem is cashless ATMs, which are especially prevalent in cannabis dispensaries.

"These are devices that process a transaction as though cash is being dispensed, without actually dispensing cash — a workaround increasingly used by merchants in cannabis, adult entertainment, and other high-risk verticals to route around card-acceptance restrictions. That's a direct violation of the network rules that define what an ATM transaction is supposed to be. But because the machine looks like an ATM to the cardholder and generates ATM interchange for whoever's processing it, the volume flows through the same rails as ours — without any of the same obligations," the operator wrote.

IAD operators pointed out that this transaction takes away funds from legitimate operators who run an actual cash-dispensing ATM.

"What makes this harder to stomach is that the parties best positioned to police it — the processors — have little financial incentive to do so. They're collecting interchange either way, compliant or not. Shutting off a cashless ATM merchant means walking away from that revenue, so enforcement tends to be slow, reactive, and, in my experience, far short of what the network rules actually call for. Until processors treat this as a compliance problem instead of a revenue stream, the operators doing everything right will keep absorbing the cost of the ones who aren't."

What's the most rewarding part of the business?

Several IADs pointed to low overhead and the ability to scale as the best benefit of being an IAD. OkATMs pointed to "getting paid with no accounts receivable ever" as the best part of being an IAD.

The anonymous IAD operator stated that simply having independence to make one's own decisions makes the ATM business worthwhile,

"There's a lot that's hard about running an ATM route — the compliance burden, the cash logistics, and yes, the competitive pressure from operators who aren't playing by the same rules — but at the end of the day, I built this business myself and I control how it runs," they said. "I set my own standards, choose my own locations, and answer to my merchants and my customers rather than a corporate ladder. That independence is the reason most of us got into this industry in the first place, and it's still the reason I'd choose it again."

How is tech helping IADs?

When asked what sort of technology IADs were using to help out with their business, some pointed to basic free tools such as Google Sheets, Google Docs, to Amazon Web Services for its cloud computing tools. Another tool mentioned was RMS, an enterprise AI platform that offers data and insights for enterprise management of multiple ATM locations.

Lastly, the anonymous ATM operator pointed to the importance of remote monitoring and management software to check in on cash levels, errors and the overall status of the machine.

"It flags a jammed dispenser or a low-cash condition before it becomes a lost transaction or an unhappy merchant, and it gives me the data to plan cash logistics instead of guessing. For a business built on thin margins and uptime, that visibility is worth more than almost any other upgrade I've made," the operator shared.

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About Bradley Cooper

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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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