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CASE STUDY: Genpass seeks Continuous Service Innovation for ATM Customers

Carreker Corporation's software tools have helped transaction processor and ATM service provider Genpass Technologies cut cash costs, improve availability and reduce ATM analysts across its network. Genpass' VP of operations says that residual in ATMs was reduced by more than 20 percent in less than a year.

October 23, 2003

"If I'm doing right by my customers, I'm always trying to stretch their software," said Patrick Law, vice president of Client Operations for Genpass, a Texas-based ATM and point-of-sale service provider. Law is a customer service zealot, bent on continuous improvement and better service through best-in-class technology. 

For some software vendors, that attitude might make Genpass a tough customer. For Carreker Corporation, whose ATM and cash management tools are part of Genpass' service offering, Genpass is a catalyst for software innovation.

Because Genpass offers a turnkey program to its 1,000-plus customers, Law said, it's important that the software they use features an open architecture for easy integration.

"We knew going into our relationship with Genpass that it was not a matter of license-install- maintain. We expected to be challenged to stay ahead of the curve and support Genpass' customers in doing things their own way," said Brian Evetts, managing director of Carreker's Cash & Logistics business. "That's exactly how it is working. Our solutions are better because of Genpass, and Genpass is better because of our solutions."

One of the reasons for Genpass' focus on continuous adaptation is its steady growth. Genpass is one of the largest ATM and POS service providers in the U.S., the second-largest network terminal driver and the sixth-largest transaction switch. It drives more than 25,000 ATMs (up from 17,000 three years ago), processes more than 300 million transactions annually and manages more than 3.5 million cardholder accounts for its customers.

Genpass first turned to Carreker in 2000 to support its growing ATM management business. "We had just landed an important new customer who demanded their own interface to the ATM management software we were currently using. My vendor at the time couldn't do it. Carreker could," Law said.

Genpass installed Carreker's eiManager (a management tool for maximizing ATM availability and automating help desk procedures), including the custom interface for the new customer; the relationship has flourished since. 

In addition to customer service, Law is focused on efficiency. When Carreker first installed eiManager, Genpass' ratio of ATM analysts per machine trailed the industry standard - one per 700 machines. Today, Genpass is on its way to resetting the standard, with one analyst per 1,200 machines managed.

"We made other operational improvements besides eiManager to get to that remarkable ratio, and we're not through yet," Law said. "But there's no doubt eiManager made us better at serving our customers and made our analysts much more efficient. With real-time tracking, my people are right on top cash activity, operational faults, problem resolution status - all the things customers pay us to care about."

The eiManager system's automated dispatching, tracking, escalation and reporting capabilities also help Genpass rapidly solve any problems.

Thanks in part to eiManager, Genpass increased its already favorable performance on average ATM availability by 1.5 percent, a key in a business where availability is all-important.

Genpass also uses iCom, Carreker's Internet-enabled cash forecasting tool.

According to Evetts, Genpass helped Carreker improve upon an earlier version of its software called Cash Forecaster. "It's not an exaggeration to say that Patrick's demands and energetic collaboration helped spur the transformations that eventually resulted in today's iCom," Evetts said.

iCom (the name stands for "integrated cash operations modules") develops a daily cash activity profile for each ATM, using historical information about cash usage at each location. Then the system predicts how much cash will be used on a given day, identifies the optimal currency order and delivery schedule, and recommends the shipment amounts and schedules for armored carriers.

Many financial institutions use iCom for managing the cash levels in their branches and vaults as well as ATMs. According to Carreker, iCom users typically reduce their cash handling costs by 20 percent to 40 percent after implementing the system.

Because iCom is a Web-based system, users can easily access information such as the pre-emptive "potential cash shortage alerts" the system issues when user-defined, pre-determined minimum levels are reached.

Carreker's iCom has helped Genpass reduce residual, the amount of cash left in an ATM at its scheduled replenishing time. "Running out of cash is a killer: disappointed customers, costly emergency deliveries by armored carriers, diminished availability. But the 'safe' alternative - overstocking - is costly for my customers and a poor use of a valuable asset. We're graded on residual, and we manage it scrupulously," Law said.

Law estimates that across his managed ATM network, residual has been reduced by more than 20 percent in less than a year.

Genpass' improvement in residual has not come at the expense of an increase in costly emergency shipments of cash, which remain below the industry standard of one percent.

Law continues to work with Carreker on lowering residual by focusing on some of the more "volatile" ATMs in his network. "A one-percent improvement in residual can free up thousands of dollars per ATM for my clients. "So we are not letting up in managing that number down," he said.

"Traditional forecasting technology employs what you might call "Olympic scoring" - extreme scores get discarded," said Evetts. "But we realize that in the dynamic volatile world of ATM usage, those extreme results might be significant indicators of a 'level shift' - a permanent change requiring a new profile. Maybe a Wal-Mart opened next door, or a competing ATM across the street closed. Rather than discarding those level shifts as extreme, iCom can automatically identify the need for a change that will benefit the customer."

Additional innovation is in store at Genpass. Plans include an EDI interface for eiManager that will offer Genpass closer management of service calls, parts inventory management and other aspects of their service business.

A new reconcilement module is also in the works for Genpass, for reconciling its cash flow between ATMs and cash handlers from a variety of inputs.