Posted on: Thursday, July 10, 2003
ATMs turn 30 this summer
By Russ Wiles
Arizona Republic
The ubiquitous cash-dispensers known as automated teller machines haven't replaced human tellers, but they have reshaped banking and the routines of millions of people. ATM use is rising globally, with more than 1.2 million machines in place, nearly one-third in the United States.
Not bad for a device celebrating its 30th birthday this summer.
ATMs were launched by banks, but most today are deployed in malls, convenience stores, bars, casinos and other retail settings. There are even mobile ATMs, carted around by companies to special events such as the Super Bowl.
"When we started, it was really hard to find ATMs," said Bill Hammel, senior vice president at Scottsdale, Ariz.-based eFunds Corp., which today operates the largest nonbank network. "Now, you trip over them everywhere."
Some 62 percent of adults in a recent survey said they have an ATM or debit card, with higher percentages among young adults and college-educated people. More than half of cardholders visit an ATM at least weekly, withdrawing less than $100 at a time on average.
About two-thirds of transactions involve withdrawals, with most of the rest split between deposits and balance inquiries, said Tom Korzik, ATM channel executive for Bank of America, which processes 900 million transactions a year in the largest bank-run network.
"When we do surveys, customers say they want ease of use, ATMs that work and convenient locations," he said.
But ATMs also are becoming more versatile and powerful.
New-generation machines sell money orders, issue phone cards, sell postage stamps, print coupons, flash custom marketing messages, let you pay bills and conduct transactions in multiple languages. Such features will become much more pervasive by mid-decade, predicts Celent Communications, a Boston research firm.
Also on the horizon are ATMs with check-image scanning technology.
Down the road, Celent Communications predicts ATMs will let users deposit coins, buy investments, watch movie clips, track news, print local-information guides, check the weather and buy tickets to sporting events or concerts.
Sophisticated biometric sensors will be put to greater use scanning eyeballs and fingertips to verify customer identities to combat fraud.
ATM growth has continued despite the rise of debit cards, which allow cash withdrawals and checklike purchases at thousands of retail locations. ATM and debit cards have overlapping features but aren't identical, with ATM cards focused on banking transactions and debit cards geared largely to purchases.
