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5 reasons why the ATM industry can't afford not to support the US defense fund
June 14, 2013 by David Tente — Executive Director, USA, ATM Industry Association
Most people don't realize how much work goes on behind the scenes, on a daily basis, to protect the interests of the ATM industry in the United States.
ATMIA, through our relationships with the Electronic Funds Transfer Association and Stateside Associates, is tracking legislation and regulations on the state and federal level, monitoring the activities of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and other regulatory agencies, and working on a variety of issues to ensure the future health and well-being of our industry.
The ATM Industry U.S. Defense Fund helps to cover these costs and is critical to our efforts.
Here are just five examples of industry issues that ATMIA is addressing, thanks to contributions by industry leaders to the U.S. Defense Fund:
- US EMV migration — From the very beginning, ATMIA has taken a leadership role with EMV by providing education in the form of conference sessions, webinars and white papers. We also represent the U.S.-based ATM industry on the EMV Migration Forum and hold regular meetings of our own ATMIA EMV committee to share information and discuss issues. ATMIA is currenty evaluating major issues with several EMV components to determine what action is necessary. These include liability shifts, network routing choice, and "honor all cards" rules.
- Further reductions in interchange — Over the last 10 years, independent ATM deployers have seen transaction revenue steadily decline due market saturation, competition with surcharge-free ATM networks, merchant cash-back options and increasing operational expenses. However, the biggest threat to IADs in the U.S. has been declining ATM interchange fees. ATMIA committees are addressing interchange concerns and taking the lead in defining ways that IADs can work more collaboratively with banks and credit unions to help address interchange concerns.
- Serial legal plaintiffs — From 2011 to 2012, we saw an upswing in lawsuits filed against ATM owners over missing ATM fee stickers — many that had been fraudulently removed. And since new ADA regulations went into effect, we're seeing an uptick in lawsuits for ADA violations as well. ATMIA monitors these "serial plaintiffs," reports back to the membership on their activities, and has been assisting members caught up in litigation with generic briefs they can use to mount a defense.
- Patent trolls — "Patent troll" lawsuits, litigation by companies that buy patents for the sole purpose of seeking damages for patent infringement, are also gaining momentum. ATMIA is monitoring the activities of patent trolls and is in the process of determining what actions can be taken to help the industry defend itself.
- Dual ATM fee notifications at the state level — ATMIA and EFTA successfully worked with Congress to eliminate the federal ATM fee sticker requirement in 2012. However, that's not the end of the issue. Many states still have laws requiring dual ATM fee notifications on their books, which continue to keep ATM operators in jeopardy of new lawsuits. ATMIA and EFTA are working to bring these outdated state laws in line with federal law.
These issues represent just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the issues ATMIA is tackling thanks to contributions to the U.S. Defense Fund.
If your company operates ATMs or is any way affiliated with the ATM value chain in the United States, you are benefiting from the vital legal efforts ATMIA provides on a daily basis. Only by working together to fight legislation and regulations that adversely affect our industry — through contributing to the U.S. ATM Defense Fund — will we continue to have vital industry.
To pledge your support, contact Sharon Lane, ATMIA global director of finance and member Services, at 605-271-7371, or make your pledge online.
About David Tente
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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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