News

CASE STUDY: Partnering with financial institutions to drive ATMs

Palm Desert National Bank, a $200 million nationally chartered financial institution that provides cash services for more than 10,000 ATMs across the country, is meeting the challenge of managing this dispersed fleet with real-time monitoring tools provided by the transaction processor Innobeta Systems.

March 31, 2004

Palm Desert National Bank is a $200 million nationally chartered financial institution headquartered in Palm Desert, California. Its Electronic Banking Division manages cash services, including vault cash, network sponsorship and ACH settlement, for more than 10,000 ATMs across the country.

A key challenge in managing such a dispersed fleet of terminals from a central location is effectively monitoring terminal activity to keep up with cash demands and settlement issues.

Always on the lookout for innovative management tools, Palm Desert turned to Innobeta Systems, Inc., a fast-growing processing company based in New Jersey.

Innobeta understood that accurate, timely information was the key to managing off-premise ATMs. So the company developed a program to provide real-time terminal management, beginning with a limited number of the Palm Desert-managed ATMs. 

"They have a good monitoring system," said Sandra Hartfield, president of Palm Desert's Electronic Banking Division. "They went out and built a front end to monitor terminals. It works well."

The Innobeta approach to ATM management includes an emphasis on real-time information.

"Our ATM management uses a custom database approach to managing ATM usage," said Eric Park, chief executive of Innobeta Systems. "We monitor all terminals in real-time, using a secure, Web-based interface so that bank ATM managers have the tools to manage up to the minute."

"Because our reporting system is so easy to use," he added, "operations managers tend to use it like a predictive tool. They're much more likely to stop problems before they develop, rather than after they've multiplied across the system."

As the successes of both organizations have multiplied, their business interests have converged as well.

"We started doing ACH settlement for Innobeta and naturally progressed to processing," Hartfield said. "When we looked at Innobeta for driving some of our terminals, we realized with their monitoring system that they could be a good choice for Palm Desert. They do a good job."

Noting that the Innobeta monitoring system uses proprietary predictive techniques developed by Palm Desert to control cash in managed ATMs, Park said, "This sophisticated cash management system is available to any Innobeta processing customer."

The relationship between Palm Desert and Innobeta has continued to grow. Palm Desert now deploys a number of ATMs manufactured by NexTran, an affiliate company of Innobeta.

This makes Innobeta the only transaction processor in North America with a direct connection to an ATM manufacturer - a strategy that reduces software development time as well as time-to-market for new products and services.

"When you buy an ATM that is built and managed by the same group, it makes it easy," Hartfield said. "It's one-stop shopping - very clean."

According to Hartfield, Palm Desert provides Innobeta with network sponsorship, ACH access and cash management. In turn, Innobeta supplies Palm Desert with NexTran ATMs, terminal driving and terminal monitoring.

Because Innobeta is a lean, responsive organization, Hartfield said, "it's easy to get to the people at the top who can make a difference."

Park said, "From the beginning, our management team focused on building a product that would have the features that customers told us they wanted. So we built it. Customers have my number -- they know how to get a hold of me."

Sandra Hartfield looks at Innobeta and sees a company in the ATM business for the long haul. Best of all, she said, "Innobeta is committed to our industry."