News

NCR launches ATM personalization software at RDS

November 17, 2003

NEW ORLEANS - NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR) is launching APTRA Relate, its newest ATM personalization software, at this week's BAI Retail Delivery Conference and Expo in New Orleans.

According to a news release, APTRA Relate enables the delivery of individualized pre-approved offers and two-way communication with customers at the ATM. NCR customers have reported that consumer acceptance of ATM product offers can be more than 30 percent greater than for the same product offered via direct-mail campaigns, making the targeted ATM offer more cost-effective.

APTRA Relate links the bank's customer relationship management (CRM) strategy to the ATM, which is the channel most frequently used by customers. If the bank does not currently have a CRM solution, APTRA Relate provides an off-the-shelf personalization option.

Supporting the concept of targeted marketing, NCR released results of a recent survey conducted by market research and consulting firm Harris Interactive that found that just 43 percent of the survey respondents agree that their bank anticipates their needs for financial services and products. Yet when asked what elements of customer service are most important, 68 percent said it's extremely or very important that their bank demonstrate the ability to understand their needs.

Seventy-nine percent of survey respondents believe the ability of their bank to provide the information they need, when they need it, is extremely or very important to serving them well.  Conveniently located branches and ATMs ranked second, with 73 percent rating this convenience as extremely or very important.

The survey also portrayed specific services now deliverable using APTRA Relate. Among the APTRA Relate functions, 72 percent of respondents favorably ranked the ability of their bank to offer a pre-programmed "favorite transaction" at the ATM.

Respondents were also asked to consider their likelihood of responding using various delivery methods to a personalized, pre-approved offer for banking services that they were interested in accepting. Twenty-nine percent indicated they would be likely to follow-up on the offer if it could be immediately completed or initiated while the ATM was processing a transaction. 

"These results bode well for NCR's new APTRA Relate software for the self-service channel," said Jim Piggot, general manager of software and services for NCR's Financial Solutions Division. "APTRA Relate helps the bank deliver a personalized customer experience through targeted marketing and two-way communication.  It rekindles the personal touch for the bank that is sometimes lost in the transition to the more cost-effective self-service channel."

Piggot said that APTRA Relate can integrate directly and easily with Teradata's server, Teradata Connect, but also has the flexibility to accept content through any industry-standard interface or protocol.

Jim Donovan, vice president of financial industry marketing at Teradata, a division of NCR, said, "The combined capabilities of Teradata with the APTRA Relate delivery capability bring together the core strengths of our company. NCR provides the industry's most advanced and experienced approach to the challenge of linking the ATM to a financial institution's customer management strategies."