News

Hands-off cost control

July 5, 2005

From a technology standpoint, the ATM's evolutionary rate is ever-increasing. Bankers seem to have new specifications to worry about every day.

Loading unique keys onto the ATM is one such worry. It can be costly and time-consuming, which is one reason processors are working with financial institutions for remote key management.

David Pharr, director of business development for Matthews, N.C.-based Trusted Security Solutions Inc., said FIs have led the way in loading remote keys, but processors are catching up.

This story and all the great free content on ATMmarketplace is supported by: Trusted Security Request free info from this company!

In 1997, Trusted Security released the A98 ATM Initial Key Establishment System. The company now works with FIs and processors to remotely distribute keys to ATMs through A98, in addition to using its Comvelope process for legacy-based ATMs.

About 35 percent of Trusted Security's users are processors, including Fiserv, NYCE and U.S. Bancorp's MoneyMaker, Pharr added. And between 70 percent and 80 percent of the ATMs supported by A98 systems are getting their support through processors.

"It's a selling point," Pharr said. "If I'm an FI outsourcing ATM driving, I am likely to go with processor A over processor B if they have remote key."

Kevin Gregoire, executive vice president of product development for Fiserv EFT, agrees. He said, "Processors have a mission to control costs. If you don't have to send two people to the ATM, it costs less, which ultimately saves the FI money."

Precious assets

Dawn Oravetz, data processing operations manager for Fort Walton Beach, Fla.-based Eglin Federal Credit Union, said Eglin handed its ATM-transaction processing over to Fiserv about a year ago. The FI also began beta testing remote key management at one of its ATMs six months ago, using A98 technology installed at Fiserv.

According to Oravetz, once the key management process is approved by the American National Standards Institute, Eglin will switch its entire network of 36 ATMs - nine on-premise and 27 off - to remote key.

"I can say, going by what we did before, using the A98 system at Fiserv - time wise, storing keys and the compliance of everything - it's been a huge improvement," she said.

Before signing up with Fiserv, Eglin - a $960 million FI with seven branches - managed and administered all of its ATMs' keys. Once its processing went to Fiserv, everything shifted.

To help its FIs make the switch to remote key, Fiserv is implementing NCR Corp. and Diebold Inc. protocols, Gregoire said, and it expects to add other manufacturers like Wincor Nixdorf in the near future. For remote key, the Windows-based and legacy ATMs have to have encrypted PIN pads.

According to Gregoire, those protocol additions will enable more FIs to transfer the burden of managing remote keys to a processor.

"We expect, in general, our customers will save more than 50 percent of their key management costs per ATM," he said. "We just make sure it's remote key-capable, and then we do all the rest. We take the burden from the FI and eliminate the project overhead."