STRATEGIC PARTNERS
May 12, 2002
LONDON -- Nationwide Building Society will roll out 141 NCR-manufactured "intelligent deposit" ATMs in 81 branches by the end of 2002.
The solution, jointly developed by NCR and Nationwide and branded "Fast Cash and Cheque," was piloted in 15 branches, according to a news release. Members have been using the pilot ATMs to make cash and check deposits with instant proof of deposit, updated passbooks and printed building society checks using the units.
According to Chris Shott, Nationwide's business development manager, 30 percent of Nationwide's customers have moved from using a teller to depositing cash and checks at the ATM during the six-month pilot. "Our members are delighted with the reduction in lines, the ease-of-use of the ATM and the control of depositing their checks and money themselves," he said.
According to Roger Bracken, NCR's vice president of self-service solutions for the UK and Ireland, financial institutions could see as much as a 40 percent reduction in transaction costs by utilizing the "intelligent deposit" functionality.
NCR Chile, an NCR susidiary, also plans to deploy the technology in 2003, making Chile the second Latin American country after Mexico to deploy on a major scale ATMs that accept cash deposits, NCR Chile general manager Claudio Figueroa told BNamericas.
Chilean banks currently offer deposits on a very limited scale through envelope drops at ATMs. So far in Latin America, only Mexican bank Banco Inbursa offers its clients envelope-free ATM cash deposits in real-time mode, according to NCR Mexico.
NCR will run some pilot tests this year and in 2003 hopes to launch a large-scale implementation of the new deposit function at Chilean banks, Figueroa said.
Rating agency FitchRatings' Chilean banking analyst Eduardo Santibanez told BNamericas. that the largest retail banks are the ones that stand to benefit most from the new deposit function, since they have the largest ATM networks.
According to NCR, the new technology will be added to existing ATMs, which represents a lower investment for the banks as they do not have to buy completely new equipment
to offer envelope-free deposits to their clients.
There are some 3,250 ATMs in Chile that are operated through two networks: Redbanc (dominated by private banks) and Globalnet (dominated by state bank Bancoestado).
