News

Mobile machines drive customer use

December 29, 2004

A rolling ATM gathers customers. At least that's been the experience of some banks that have added mobile machines to their ATM programs.

Mark Himsel, vice president of Southwest Bank of Texas, said the bank's mobile ATM has been "very busy" since its late October debut at Houston's 69,000-seat Reliant Stadium.

The bank, which already had eight machines at the arena, constructed a trailer for a ninth ATM at the request of the Houston Texans football team.

While the actual number is a closely guarded secret, Himsel said the mobile ATM saw a 560 percent increase in dollars withdrawn when the stadium hosted Super Bowl XXXVIII.

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While Southwest Bank has been happy with transaction numbers at its mobile unit, Himsel said the ATM's primary function is to make it easier for customers to access cash in convenient locations. If the unit's popularity continues to grow, the bank may add a second one - perhaps in Dallas, where it recently purchased Lone Star Bank, a five-branch, $223 million financial institution.

"We want to be out in the neighborhoods and the communities where we need to be," Himsel said.

"It's a nice way to connect with the community," agreed Patty Henneke, head of ATM Banking at U.S. Bank, which owns a pair of vans, each equipped with two machines.

The first was introduced in 1997, with the second vehicle added a few years later. Between them, the vans have logged some 250,000 miles, traveling to such high-profile events as the Kentucky Derby and the Rose Bowl.

"It's really great to have a service you can provide to communities going through hard times," Henneke said, noting that the vans were able to reach southern Californians fleeing their homes during last October's wildfires.

Bumps on the road

The trickiest aspect of mobile ATMs, Henneke said, is telecommunications. U.S. Bank's vans are equipped to connect ATMs to networks via dial-up, wireless or VSAT (satellite) technologies.

"We obviously prefer dial because it's the least expensive option, but we've got all three methods because we never know where (the vans) are going to end up," Henneke said. "In California, for example, we couldn't use VSAT because of all the smoke."

Those kinds of hassles have led some financial institutions to eliminate their mobile ATMs. Wells Fargo, for instance, retired its five mobile units after about five years on the road. According to a Wells Fargo spokesperson, the mobile units weren't being used enough to warrant the costs.

"Mobile ATMs were used, particularly at festivals and other events, to familiarize customers with the machine and the technology. Now that ATMs are more mainstream, this need has lessened," the spokesperson said.

Independent ATM producer TRM Corporation has decided to offer mobile ATM services to banks that may not want to take on the expense of maintaining their own units.

"Banks are exiting and we see an opportunity to fill the void," said Dan Tierney, the company's executive vice president, noting that TRM purchased its van from a bank that recently ended its mobile program.

"We would be very happy to have a bank sponsor at major events that we attend. TRM could place temporary graphics both on the van and ATM screen representing the sponsor bank, as well as provide surcharge-free access for their cardholders," Tierney said.

"We should be able to achieve the bank's goals of exposure and support to the community without the financial risks."