October 29, 2002
UTRECHT, the Netherlands -- Following an initial six month pilot at four McDonald's restaurants, Moneybox Nederlands has secured a contract with McDonald's to install 50 ATMs at the largest McDrive restaurants throughout Holland.
Moneybox Nederlands is a joint venture between the UK-based Moneybox Corporation and SNS Bank, launched in November of 2001. Moneybox owns a controlling 51 percent interest in the venture.
According to a news release, Moneybox has installed ATMs in locations such as Van der Valk hotels, Accor hotels, leisure parks and gas stations throughout Holland. Moneybox plans to roll out approximately 750 ATMs, which carry a brand called "Flappentap," in the country by the end of 2003.
"It is clear that public perception of offering cash withdrawal services at convenient locations, for a small fee, has been positive and consumers are willing to pay for this service," said Rob Bronkhorst, Moneybox Nederlands sales director, in the release.
Moneybox levies a convenience fee of €1,59 (about $1.56 U.S) per cash withdrawal transaction at its ATMs in the Netherlands.
Moneybox has also made a move into Germany. In May, the company entered into a strategic partnership with Service Bank GmbH ("Service Bank"), a wholly owned subsidiary of GE Capital, to deploy convenience ATMs in Germany. Moneybox is acting as the deployment partner to Service Bank, responsible for locating potential sites and subsequently operating all of the ATMs.
In August, Ambient plc, the AIM (Alternative Investment Market) quoted business and marketing services group, said that Moneybox Corporation Limited, in which Ambient is a 60.1 percent majority shareholder, had become profitable in its UK business in July. (See related story Moneybox now profitable in UK)