News

ATMs face market changes

February 12, 2006

(Buffalo, N.Y.) Business First:Some experts have begun to see signs that escalating ATM fees are threatening the popularity of ATMs, and they wonder if consumers may begin looking for other ways to get cash, such as with check-cashing machines or by going back to branches and human tellers.

"(ATM use) is declining because there are more ATMs, so people are spreading their usage across a larger base," said Tony Hayes, vice president of financial services for Boston-based Dove Consulting Inc., a division of Hitachi Consulting.

The situation has created a classic Catch 22: Declining ATM use is causing revenues to dip so ATM operators impose higher surcharges, which is a reason why consumers use ATMs less often.

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