News

Through-the-wall ATMs not sexy, but Solid Performers

The through-the-wall machine is the peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich of the ATM world -- not very sexy but a popular mainstay all the same.

November 5, 2003

The through-the-wall machine is the peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich of the ATM world -- not very sexy but a popular mainstay all the same.

Both Mike Tharp, Diebold'sdirector of business intelligence, and Bob Tramontano, vice president of marketing for NCR's Financial Solutions division, say that through-the-wall machines account for roughly half of their ATM sales.

For Triton, Tranax Technologies and GTI, manufacturers that have sold most of their ATMs to retailers, new through-the-wall models are a key part of their effort to win business from financial institutions. All are rolling out through-the-wall models this year.

"You must have a through-the-wall machine to sell to that market," said Doug Sholes, Triton's manager of financial institution sales.

Brad Zerman, president of start-up manufacturer Qualtex Corporation, said his company increased the cash capacity of its WeatherMaster ATM because of inquiries it received from financial institutions.

In Retail Banking Research Ltd.'s most recent Global ATM Market study, conducted in 2001, exterior through-the-wall ATMs accounted for 19 percent of the worldwide installed base, said Dominic Hirsch, RBR's managing director.

The UK-based research firm did not break out interior through-the-wall deployments, but Hirsch said they would fall under a category RBR calls "lobby," machines installed in bank vestibules. Twenty-seven percent of the world's ATMs are lobby machines, according to the report.

Both numbers declined slightly from RBR's 1998 report, when through-the-wall and lobby ATMs totaled 24 percent and 34 percent, respectively. Hirsch attributed the declines to the popularity of off-site ATMs, which rocketed from 22 percent in 1998 to 38 percent in 2001.

Through-the-wall ATMs are most popular in the Middle East, Africa and western Europe, Hirsch said. They are not as common in the United States, Japan and Brazil, three of the world's largest ATM markets.

In western Europe, the machines' popularity may be tied to the high cost of real estate in city centers. "Banks don't want to give up too much space there," Hirsch said.

Tradition probably also plays a role, he theorized. "The way it starts off is the way it often continues, and through-the-wall ATMs have been popular here for a long time."

Ted Josephson, vice president of eBusiness and Operations for People's Bank, values through-the-wall ATMs for their 24-hour accessibility and the added security they offer for those replenishing cash.

They are also a good vandalism deterrent, he said. "If you've got a good chunk of it behind a wall, it makes it hard for someone to mess with it."

About 70 percent of his 236 ATMs are through-the-wall models, he said. It's his deployment of choice for traditional branches. People's has been unable to install through-the-wall machines at many of its supermarket branches, however, because space limitations often don't allow for rear-loading models.

Like Josephson, Jim Walker, PNC Bank's senior vice president of ATM Banking, believes through-the-walls are "the best way to accommodate your customers" because of their 24/7 availability. Ninety percent of PNC's 900 branch ATMs are through-the-wall models, he said. The majority of PNC's 2,700 off-site machines are freestanding models, however.

One downside of through-the-wall deployments, Walker said, is their cost, which can be twice as much as freestanding machines. They are also less flexible, he said. "If a site doesn't work out, you've got to tear out the bricks and mortar and then put the building back."

"The location drives the machine, not the other way around," said Brenda Wylie, FleetBoston Financial's ATM operations manager. Like People's Bank and PNC, Fleet favors through-the-walls ATMs at its branches, which contain two to eight machines, Wylie said.

Through-the-wall deployments generally present a better branding opportunity, she said. She mentioned a New York City Fleet branch located on Broadway. "We have six machines in a convex arrangement in the lobby. The walls are all glass, so the lobby and the vestibule are visible. You can really see our colors and branding."

Diebold's Tharp predicts that through-the-wall models will continue to be strong sellers as financial institutions increase their investment in new branches.

Diebold's new Opteva line has three through-the-wall models: the 560 cash dispenser, the 760 full-function unit and the 740 drive-up unit.  Deployers can tweak the fascia of the new models, Tharp said, so that they can easily replace an older Diebold i or ix model - or an NCR or Wincor Nixdorf ATM.

NCR's Tramontano predicted that a new emphasis on security may help drive more worldwide through-the-wall sales. In France, for example, a new regulation mandates that cash replenishment must occur in an area separate from customers.

NCR's Personas M series of ATMs allow deployers to adjust the height of their through-the-wall deployments by more than one foot, he said. "We realized that was important to folks because you've got floors of different heights. It also allows you to offer a broader range of accessibility."

Included In This Story

---

Diebold Nixdorf

As a global technology leader and innovative services provider, Diebold Nixdorf delivers the solutions that enable financial institutions to improve efficiencies, protect assets and better serve consumers.

Request Info

Learn More