News

ATMs with prepaid card dispense debut in Phoenix

September 18, 2007

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. - Better ATM Services is debuting its patented prepaid-card-dispensing technology at five locations in Greater Phoenix, ushering in a new use for ATMs, the company says. The five locations include Mi Amigo restaurants in Phoenix and Mesa, Ariz., Maycayo's in Scottsdale, and Tavern on Mill in Tempe. The ATM hardware comes from Diebold Inc. Elan Financial Services is running the ATMs.

According to a news release, the technology allows ATMs to be upgraded to dispense prepaid cards through cash trays, rather than requiring the deployer to add a card-dispensing sidecar.

Todd L. Nuttall, Better ATM Services' chief executive, the technology offers retail merchants and financial institutions an opportunity to expand the utility of the ATM without costly upgrades.

"Our technology means ATMs can dispense gift cards, event tickets, transit passes or any other type of prepaid card without investing in additional, costly equipment like sidecars," Nuttall said. "With the holiday season approaching, we have already received vigorous industry interest."

The Tower Group estimates that approximately $80 billion was spent on prepaid/gift cards in 2006. Based on Mercator Advisory Group research, that total included the sale of approximately 600 million in-store cards.

Better ATM Services' chief development and marketing officer, Thomas E. Honey, who developed the Visa Debit Card, now known as the Check Card, says the five pilot sites in and around Phoenix will expand consumer and merchant awareness about in-store gift-card distribution in a convenient, secure and profitable way.

"Consumers will now have another, more convenient, option to obtain a gift card," he said. "Licensed ATMs will help both consumers and merchants avoid over-the-counter purchase hassles and check-out time delays. Merchants will appreciate the cost-saving features from lower labor costs that automation brings, including greatly reduced theft worries, enhanced gift-card promotion, and better service to customers for conveniently obtaining both cash and gifts cards."

Better ATM Services' cards are contained on a single plastic "card sheet" that comprises three panels, similar in size to some foreign currencices. ATM cassettes can be adjusted to accommodate larger currencies and the specified size of Better ATM card sheets. Early testing with equipment from three ATM manufacturers proved that the sheets can be retrieved and dispensed with minor modifications, Better ATM Services says.

Better ATM Services expects to demonstrate its new technology at next month's ATM, Debit, and Prepaid Forum in Carlsbad, Calif.