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Hyosung partner says NanoCash is perfect fit for UK ATM market

Omni Cash will become the first company in the UK to sell the NanoCash, an ATM manufactured by Hyosung, after forming a partnership with the South Korean manufacturer that is similar to the successful U.S. pairing of Hyosung and Tranax Technologies.

December 26, 2002

Benoit Mes believes he can make a big impression on the UK's ATM market with a small machine -- the NanoCash, which is just 20 ½ inches tall, 11 inches wide and 20 inches deep.

Mes is the managing director of Omni Cash. The new company, based in Middlesex, has formed a partnership with Hyosung, the NanoCash's South Korean manufacturer, that is similar to the successful U.S. pairing of Hyosung and Fremont, Calif.-based Tranax Technologies.

Mes, who will become the first to sell Hyosung ATMs in Europe, hesitates to use the word "exclusive. However, "as close to exclusive as you can get, we are," he said.

Hyosung machines sold in the UK will bear the Omni Cash name, much as those in the U.S. are sold as Tranax ATMs.

Because the NanoCash can be mounted on a countertop, on a pedestal or through the wall, it is a natural for the space-challenged UK, Mes said. "We don't have as much space here as in the U.S., and so it is far more expensive."

The NanoCash, the newest retail ATM to hit the UK market.

Mes was heartened by the response the NanoCash received at a recent London trade show geared toward bar and pub owners. He exhibited the NanoCash along with a freestanding cash dispenser produced by another retail-oriented manufacturer.

"Out of 100 people, 98 people wanted the NanoCash and two wanted the other," he said. "So many people were interested, I thought I'll sleep OK tonight."

While about half of the UK's approximately 40,000 ATMs are at off-site locations and nearly 7,000 are owned by retailers and other non-banks, Mes believes there are plenty of good retail sites left -- many of which do not have the space or the footfall to support other retail machines.

"If I thought there were only 1,000 sites left, I wouldn't have spent my money here," said Mes. "I think there is space for a few more thousand in the retail environment, and within that space there is room for our share."

Mes doesn't seem bothered by the fact that Tritonand NCR both appear to be well entrenched in the UK's retail ATM market, with each having sold thousands of machines. He is encouraged by the precedent set by Tranax in the U.S., which entered the market at a time when it seemed to be maturing and went on to sell 30,000 ATMs.

"We've let the others educate the market, and now we're ready to move," he said.

Jeff Barrow, Triton's new vice president of sales and marketing who until recently led the company's sales efforts in Europe, said it was "inevitable" that other manufacturers would enter the thriving UK market.

Omni Cash and any other newcomers will face intense competition, Barrow said. "If our guys are missing many deals, I'd be surprised."

Mes plans to recruit new distributors, but he believes there will be interest from some of the existing IADs (independent ATM deployers, the British version of ISOs) -- even though, to date, most have maintained relationships with only one manufacturer.

"I think they want a machine for every site, and they may not be getting a whole range of products from their existing supplier," he said. He noted again that because of its dimensions, the NanoCash might open up opportunities at sites that cannot spare the space for other ATMs.

While he plans to sell only the NanoCash at first, Mes said he will consider selling one or two other Hyosung machines in the UK if there appears to be a market need. Atmos, one of the UK's primary transaction processors, recently certified the NanoCash.

Mes will use the expertise he's gained from his other business -- Omni Plus, a reseller of new and refurbished NCR, Dieboldand Wincor Nixdorf ATMs that also provides parts and training for service organizations in 55 countries -- to establish a strong service infrastructure for the NanoCash and any other Hyosung machines he decides to sell through Omni Cash. Hyosung ATMs will be shipped to and stored in a 15,000-square-foot warehouse in Middlesex.

"We've got 10 years of experience doing this, so our distributors won't have to rely on someone else at the beginning," he said.

Mes said he has already sold some machines for delivery in January. However, he added, "For me, a deal is only done when a machine is in the ground and a transaction is made."

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