Software
Where's ATM, self-service software headed in 2026?
A live webinar sponsored by KAL and hosted on ATM Marketplace highlights top insights from the 2025/26 ATM & Self-Service Software Trends Report.
December 5, 2025 by Bradley Cooper — Editor, ATM Marketplace & Food Truck Operator
The ATM software industry is at a crossroads. With the ending of support for Windows 10, operators have to make expensive decisions on how to upgrade their machines. In addition, they also have to decide how they are going to invest into innovative technologies such as AI and cash management tools.
The 2025/26 ATM & Self-Service Software Trends Report aims to provide some guidance into the ATM and self-service software industries, as it compiles survey responses from banks around the world along with commentary from industry experts. A live webinar, sponsored by KAL and hosted on ATM Marketplace, reveals the top insights from the report.
Bradley Cooper, editor of ATM Marketplace, moderated the discussion with a diverse set of panelists from many geographic regions including Nathan Wald, VP of global ATM product team at Brinks, Angeliki Ksona, head of self service banking at National Bank of Greece, Rupinder Sandhu Anand, VP of APAC and CEO of India OKI, Steve Hensley, EVP of sales and marketing at KAL ATM Software and Marylin Bell, head of marketing at KAL ATM Software.
Bell kicked off the webinar with a discussion surrounding some of the survey findings. The report gathered responses from around the globe, with 43% coming from North America, 26% from Europe, 9% from Asia, 11% from Africa, 2% from Australia and 9% from South America.
The report found banks are continuing to be more reliant on their ATMs. Around 51% of respondents said they were more reliant on ATMs than before, representing a major increase from 31% in 2024. In addition, 40.57% stating their reliance stayed about the same and only 8.49% reported they were less reliant on the machines. This has also been seen in ATM usage as well, with 58% of banks reporting a rise in ATM usage, and only 22% saw decreased usage.
It is also clear the ATM user base is changing. For instance, Generation X is the most active of ATM users, as reported by banks, followed by millennials, Gen Z and Baby Boomers. Boomers are the only generation more likely to visit a teller rather than an ATM.
Anand noted this trend holds true in India as well, as Gen Zs are all about the "now" and being able to spend their money when they want. However, this has created some problems for the younger generations as they are often unable to budget using digital or card based payments.
Wald disagreed with this perspective, stating that with the ATM now being 50 years old, all generations are familiar with how to use them and are willing to use them.
"From a generational perspective, I don't know if I'm seeing a preference on what generation is using them. Most of the generations are familiar on what the ATM is and they are willing to walk up and use it. The kind of transaction is different, but the usage among the generations is the same," Wald said.
Looking at advanced ATM features, contactless continues to grow as a feature and Anand believes this trend will continue.
"The survey this year showed 55% of contactless as the most popular approach. By next year, I think that number will be 70%."
On the OS level, ATM operators were at a variety of levels. Around 23% have already upgraded to Windows 11 while 37.35% are planning to start migration soon. In addition, 18.07% were looking at other options such as Linux.
Hensely said that nowadays it is possible for ATM operators to embrace Linux, but Wald said that much of this Linux adoption comes more on the kiosk side, not on the ATM.
"The biggest problem you have right now is that Windows is everywhere. Trying to replace that with a different ecosystem is very difficult and very expensive," Wald said.
As for Windows 11, Wald added that many operators don't see the value of moving from Windows 10 to 11 based on the security features alone and many of them are still working on migrating their fleet from Windows 7 to 10.
During the webinar, the panelists answered several questions surrounding these trends such as:
- What factors are contributing to evolving levels of reliance on ATMs in your region?
- How can we make integration and personalization better at ATMs?
- How ready are ATM networks for Windows 11?
- To what extent are alternative operations systems like Linux being explored?
- What new innovations can we expect to see in the future?
Click here to download and listen to the webinar in full. You can download the report here.
About Bradley Cooper
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KAL ATM Software
KAL software delivers ATM efficiency and innovation you can bank on. It powers over 350,000 ATMs and dispenses more than $1 trillion per year.
