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US IADs remain optimistic despite challenges
April 1, 2014 by David Tente — Executive Director, USA, ATM Industry Association
It always pleasantly surprises me how optimistic U.S.-based independent ATM deployers are and how committed they are to the industry. This positive attitude was again brought home to me during the ATMIA U.S. Conference and Expo at the Loews Pacific Resort in Universal Orlando.
During his presentation, Bryan Bauer, president of Kahuna ATM Solutions, revealed the results of the 2014 U.S. IAD survey co-sponsored by Kahuna and ATMIA. As we've seen in the four years we've been doing this survey, the majority of IADs remain optimistic about the industry and plan to grow their business over the next 12 months — despite the many challenges this group of businesses face.
IADs face major challenges in today's uncertain marketplace. Closely mirroring last year's results, EMV migration (62 percent) was cited as the No. 1 legislative, compliance or network concern.
Reductions in interchange, the number one concern for IADs in 2013, came in second at 52 percent, while 29 percent of IADs chose surcharge restrictions.
The No. 1 non-legislative, compliance or network concern of IADs was declining transaction volume (45 percent), followed by ATM saturation (40 percent) and keeping up with changing technology (38 percent).
And, yet IADs remains optimistic with 33 percent of those surveyed indicating that they plan to increase their business more than they did than last year and 11 percent planning to equal last year's growth during the next 12 months.
Only 7 percent of those surveyed said either that they planned to sell their business or were unsure of their growth strategy for 2014.
As the market changes, IADs have changed as well. Rather than rely solely on transaction income, many have added products and services to their offerings.
The top five products and services offered by IADs, other than ATM transactions, are:
- credit card processing;
- advertising and ATM branding packages;
- professional support and managed services;
- surcharge-free network access; and
- deposit automation.
IADs have changed their approach to how they grow their businesses, as well. The survey indicated that 20 percent of IADs planned to acquire additional portfolios in 2014, and 13 percent were planning to align with another business to increase efficiency.
I think we can all take a lesson from IADs: No obstacle is too great if you are determined to succeed.
The complete report is available for download from the ATMIA and Kahuna websites.
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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