News

Survey reveals what people around the world want from an ATM — and it's not always the same thing

June 29, 2017

A global online poll conducted on the eve of the ATM's 50th anniversary has found that current priorities for ATM users worldwide include easier, intuitive and more secure ways of accessing their bank accounts.

According to a press release from poll sponsor ACI, 43 percent of consumers in Italy, 38 percent in Spain and 28 percent in the U.S. want ATMs to offer better and more secure ways of authentication.

Other services consumers would like to see from ATMs include better and more detailed information about their account, such as mini-statements; alerts for upcoming payments or overdraft fees; the ability to dispense a new credit or debit card; and the ability to access electronically signed official documents.

On the downside (but hardly surprising) consumers in all countries expressed annoyance over ATM fees.

Specifically, the survey revealed that:

The ability to dispense new bankcards appealed to 35 percent of consumers in Spain, 31 percent in France, 26 percent in the U.K. and 25 percent in the U.S.; and
consumers were less interested in obtaining other banking products (e.g., a new accounts or mortgage application) via an ATM. Only 5 percent of U.K. consumers and 9 percent of U.S. consumers would take advantage of this functionality.

ACI, executive vice president Mandy Killam said in the release that consumers simply want the sort of convenience they've become accustomed to with smartphones, tablets and contactless cards.

"Many of them want to use ATMs in a similar fashion," she said. "The ATM is a prime example of an enduring customer behavior, and in the future, consumers expect the ATM to continue to evolve [with an] increased prevalence of mobile-enabled features and alternatives to traditional PIN-based authentication."

The survey results also showed that the ATM remains relevant, but use varies by country:

In Germany 48 percent of respondents reported using ATMs just as much as they always have, despite widespread availability of new digital forms of payments. Spain followed closely at 47 percent, the U.K at 42 percent, France and Italy at 40 percent, the U.S. at 34 percent and Hungary at 29 percent.
34 percent of consumers polled in Hungary use ATMs "a lot less" now than they used to, followed 23 percent of consumers in the U.S.
On behalf of ACI, YouGov surveyed 8,000 consumers in seven countries, including 1,000 per country in the U.S., Germany, France, Spain, Italy, and Hungary, and 2,000 in the U.K. The survey was conducted online in May and June.