STRATEGIC PARTNERS
Trade shows like CeBIT offer a chance for exhibitors to try out some of their newest whiz-bang concepts. The world's top three ATM manufacturers, NCR, Diebold and Wincor Nixdorf, didn't disappoint those looking for innovative applications.
April 3, 2002
HANNOVER, Germany -- Trade shows like March 13-20's CeBIT in Hannover are an opportunity for the heavy hitters of the ATM industry to show off their latest technologies and ideas. This year, concepts on show from NCR, Diebold and Wincor-Nixdorf covered a range of new prototypes, new functions for ATMs and new business ideas.
As well as providing a forum to meet with potential customers and show off their wares, ATM manufacturers see tradeshows such as CeBIT as playing an important role in their R&D, offering exhibitors a chance to get feedback from potential customers in an informal setting, and giving research labs a chance to show off their prowess.
Eyeing biometrics at the ATM
The new technology on display in Diebold's booth was an ATM incorporating biometric iris recognition to allow transactions to be made without a PIN. The solution was developed in partnership with Johan Enschedé Security Solutions (JESS) of the Netherlands.
The product brochure highlights the extreme richness of the human iris as a source of biometric information, and waxes rather poetically of its "multiple contraction furrows, collagenous fibers, crypts, coronas, striations, serpentine vasculature, rifts and pits," which are recognized and encoded as a 512-byte "iriscode." According to JESS, the recognition system has been in use worldwide for six years -- with clients including Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, banks, laboratories, nuclear plants and government buildings -- and has never turned up a false match.
To use an ATM equipped with iris recognition, bank customers must first enroll and have their irises scanned at a branch. The equipment worked well in demonstration, although it was necessary to lean in close to the machine for the iris to be recognized.
According to staff at the booth, recognition occurs when an iris scan taken at the time of the transaction is compared with another stored on a smart card. Transaction authorization takes place the normal way, with an online connection to the bank host.
The solution has yet to be widely launched to the ATM market, and Diebold was hoping to gather feedback from potential customers at CeBIT. Despite the problems involved in getting large scale biometric projects up and running, including some users' reluctance to use technology they perceive as invasive, Diebold believes that biometrics may find a role in making the distribution of government benefits more secure.
Incredible shrinking interface
For a long time now it has been technically possible to bring the Internet to ATMs, but banks have been reluctant to do so. Not only has the potential for long queues put banks off, but the interface of a typical ATM is dramatically different from that of a PC and, with just a numeric keypad and some softkeys, does not offer the level of control needed to navigate regular information-rich Web pages.
NCR has come up with an answer to this problem, by using the mobile Internet to provide content to ATMs. The essence of the idea is to keep things as simple as possible. Just three services were offered on the demonstration: stock quotes from FTInvestor, news from Yahoo and sports headlines from Sports.com.
By going directly to only a part of the Internet which uses only short blocks of plain text and links suitable for display on WAP-enabled mobile phones and other handheld devices, NCR has been able to provide an inexpensive and convincing solution to the problem of how to make third-party information navigable on an ATM. Articles can be viewed on screen and printed out on the ATM receipt.
Paul Nielsen, director of Mobility Alliances at NCR, said, "This product will offer value to banks in terms of customer loyalty and retention, as well as providing them with a further reason to upgrade their ATMs to a TCP/IP connection."
Mail + money = new ATM concept
Wincor-Nixdorf displayed a new concept called compactPost. Prepared in just three weeks specifically for CeBIT, Wincor's prototype is based on its existing compactBank product and aims to combine the functions of an ATM with many of the mail-related services offered at post offices.
More than four times the width of a standard ATM, the device features a full keyboard, card reader/dispenser, statement printer, envelope depository and note and coin acceptors.
On the postal side, the machine includes a scale with built-in camera that is used to weigh a parcel and measure its size. It then prints a stamp to the exact value of the postage required and automatically opens one of a range of different-sized safety lockers where the customer can leave the package for collection.
Postage stamps can be dispensed from a cassette, as can vouchers, which may be printed on the fly with a printer located inside the cash cassette. To complete the chain of events required to mail a letter, the machine even includes a simple letter box.
There are approximately 100,000 post office branches across western Europe, and it is normal for these outlets to offer banking as well as postal services. Wincor Product Manager Reiner Hölting said, "CompactPost will be of interest not only in large post offices where it will put an end to long queues, but also in smaller ones which may otherwise face the risk of closure."
Many post offices in Europe also play a role in distributing government benefits. Hölting said the compactPost's envelope deposit module could be swapped out for a barcode scanner, and the machine could then pay out benefits to an exact amount in notes and coin.
As a concept, compactPost is unusual by CeBIT standards, being a market-led rather than technology-led innovation. Rather than demonstrating a new technology, it brings together a host of established technologies to create a new solution for the needs of the postal sector.
