News

Increased reliance on ATMs in 1999, Young and Rubicam predicts

February 24, 2002

NEW YORK -- Young & Rubicam Inc.'s Brand Futures Group released a bevy of key trends to watch in 1999, including increased reliance on the now ubiquitous dispenser of truly global money: the ATM.

In the latest issue of Future Dialogue, the group's weekly trendletter, Marian Salzman, director of BFG and the company's chief futurist, serves up bytes of what's coming in the final year prior to Y2K. An expanded version of these "Nine Trends to Watch in 1999" will be available for e-sale(http://www.nowandnext.com/1999) in a comprehensive Futurescope trend report.

Salzman predicts the opportunity for instant monetary exchanges and convenient purchasing (of such items as postage stamps, prepaid phone cards, and theater tickets) will extend consumers' relationship with the ATM, making it an even more indispensable part of life. Look, too, for a move toward increased personalization of ATMs, enabling users to specify standard "preferences " that permit them to bypass questions about such things as preferred language, preferred denominations and
whether a receipt is desired.