News

Keep the cash, lose the hassle

April 24, 2005

Everyone knows by now that c-stores and ATMs go together like beer and potato chips. But what many owners and operators fail to realize is that when it comes to having a unit placed inside the store, they have a critical choice to make: to own or not to own the machine itself.

At first glance, the answer may seem obvious. According to Stephen Duffie, business manager for Florida-based ATM deployer Fidelity ATM, most retailers who have ATMs placed in their stores make about 25 cents per ATM transaction. If they own the ATMs, they make about 50 cents a transaction.

But that fast analysis doesn't take into consideration the work that goes into being an ATM owner, such as handling the cash or calling the repair guy when the thing gives a customer $20 instead of $40.

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Sure, c-store operators with many locations in their portfolio may realize enough to make the effort worthwhile. But for the independent operator - the proprietor of the so-called mom-and-pop c-store - that quarter difference on each transaction may eventually seem pretty small beside the daunting task list., especially since most ATM placements, depending on the c-store's traffic, only pull between 100 and 400 transactions a month.

A no-hassle solution

Mike Johnson, manager of Maryland-based Motor City Car Wash, had an ATM placed at his business nearly a year ago. It pulls in about 40 to 50 transactions per day - less than half the number a typical c-store would.

Johnson sees several advantages to letting a placement distributor own the machine.

"They bring in the machine and get it up and running - we don't have to do anything. And since we like it when people pay in cash, it's good to have the ATM there," he said.

Tony Benvenuto, who owns a QuikStop in Boca Raton, Fla., agrees.

Benvenuto had an ATM placed near the check-out counter at his c-store about six months ago. The ATM isn't obtrusive, and it's an easy moneymaker, he said. It pays Benvenuto close to $40 a month on transactions. And since he doesn't own the machine, he earns the extra income without any hassle or maintenance.

He added that the ATM's presence has also cut down the credit card processing fees he pays each month. "Because you're paying with cash, your transaction doesn't cost me anything," he said. "It's taking the cost from me and putting it back on the customer."

A good fit for a c-store

Finding a good fit, however, is one of the c-store operator's challenges. You don't want a machine that takes up a lot of room and isn't easy to place.

One of the most popular ATMs for c-stores is the Tranax 1500, said Duffie. His company works with a large volume of the machines because of their size and design. "It's sleek and can fit virtually anywhere, which is important to the business owner," he said. "They don't want a big machine that takes up a lot of room."