ABA Banking Journal - November 2007 - (Page 38)

COVER STORY very popular and have served as a useful draw into the branch,” says TowerGroup’s Silva. “Kids and change collectors alike love the utility,” he says. (See sidebar on page 36.) The only challenge with counters, going forward, he notes, will be how to make the technology work in a tighter retail footprint, because branches will have to be much smaller over time to be cost justified. What ATMs can still become NCR, whose self-service products generate more than 23 billion transactions annually, saw roughly 40% of the company’s $6.1 billion in 2006 revenue come from self-service hardware, software, and services. It has spun off its successful Teradata division from the rest of the company in order to pursue a more point- Citibank Or, maybe, semi self-serve? Another related trend, now emerging, is the early adoption of teller-assisted kiosks, mentioned earlier. With these units, one teller can oversee multiple kiosks and complete transactions begun by customers, when necessary. SourceTechnologies, one vendor in the space, says the units have the potential to reduce wait times; automate the most expensive teller transactions; and reduce or eliminate balancing errors. “Bank of America has had success with these devices and has reported to me that even customers initially resistant to conducting transactions at the lobby-based ATMs could be convinced to transact on the teller-assisted device,” says Silva. “Once they had become familiar, they could be made to feel comfortable enough to go self-service in subsequent visits, especially at a busy branch.” Another U.S. silver-lining experience has come from Wells Fargo, which has had success in conveying a targeted customer message to ATMs. “If consumers turned down an offer, Wells has the machines set up to be smart enough to turn off the offer to that consumer in subsequent transactions.” This personalization could be viewed as a “so what” in the era of the sophisticated form letter, but Silva has urged many bankers to continue with their efforts to make hay with the interface, personalize whenever possible, and, in effect, retrain the consumer to pay attention for a device that they have long leaned on but forgotten how to love. It will be up to merchants, card issuers, and other sorts of providers to use ATMs more effectively to promote their wares. In a recent issue of ATM Marketplace, as an example, in-store coupon dispensing was hailed as a profit center waiting to be tapped, given rising food prices. 38 NOVEMBER 2007/ABA BANKING JOURNAL “gets down” with self-service bilities are there on the horizon. His own company, like other manufacturers, keeps reinventing the ATM, having just announced the release of its bulk document Intelligent Depository Module technology for processing both checks and bill payment documents in bulk. This comes at a time when operational costs—including cash handling expenses—are ratcheting up and forcing banks to rethink self-service. Under the radar, more than one U.S. bank is conducting pilots involving what could be called “advanced ATMs.” (We’ve heard they exist, and you know who you are, but nobody will go on the record due to competitive pressures.) A woman pays her bill with cash at an overseas Citibank ATM. This Personas M model, from NCR, will increasingly be featured in the U.S. market. Meanwhile, Citi is also making use of kiosks to obtain consumer feedback at its U.S. Financial Centers, giving new meaning to multichannel coordination of services, says spokesperson Rob Julavitz. ed strategy in the do-it-yourself arena. It sees little but possibility, no doubt colored by international successes. “At the core of the self-service value proposition to the consumer is the reality that in all transactions, nobody cares more about the accuracy than that particular consumer,” says CEO Bill Nutti. “The ability to exert some control and convenience will be the ongoing driver over time.” Having recently introduced the Personas M series, NCR is foreseeing demand for bulk deposit here and advanced function ATMs in emerging markets like India and China. Ken Justice, vice-president of ATM marketing, Diebold, North Canton, Ohio, agrees that ATMs are mature devices, particularly in the U.S. where 1,300 ATMs per million people is the widely quoted ratio. And yet, the possi- Multi-channel uniformity wanted In a study done by Diebold and Harris Interactive in 2006, 82% of consumers surveyed indicated that they used ATMs for cash, 30% said they deposited checks, 24% said they check account balances, and 19% used the machines to deposit cash. But there is potential to change their views of the device and their habits. For instance, 72% would look favorably on the use of biometrics to increase ATM security and 45% said it was important to have multichannel function uniformity, with ATM screens, internet banking interfaces, and branch units uniform in look, feel, and information presented. Given success stories in other countries, Justice remains hopeful that universal drivers will advance the cause of ATMs used differently. Cost cutting requirements already in place will ultimately force the issue of adopting smaller branches with a tighter, techno-packed footprint (highly capable ATMs wedged along the walls). Paired with that will be the need to rationalize all delivery channels. Add into this vision the ongoing hope to populate the branch with tellers that have the time—and training—to be salespeople at long last. To meet these needs, Justice and others hope, deposit automation functions will seep into popular use, cutting down on branch traffic, as legacy machines get replaced. Or, as TowerGroup’s Silva puts it, so that “units in the street” will look like the leading-edge stuff he’s been seeing at trade shows for nearly a decade. Continued on page 40 www.ababj.com/subscribe.html http://www.ncr.com http://www.sourcetech.com http://www.diebold.com http://www.atmmarketplace.com/ http://www.ababj.com/subscribe.html

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of ABA Banking Journal - November 2007

ABA Banking Journal - November 2007 Contents Editor’s Column Briefing: Good News for Mortgages Sleight of Mind N.Y. Hiring Bonanza May Be Bane Snapshot: A Look at Held-For-Investment Loan Growth ABA Resources ABA Chairman’s Position “The Moose Bank” Thrives on Manufactured Housing Loans Finding the Middle Way for Your Bank’s Retirement Program Pass the Aspirin Cover Story: Self-Service Steps Up DIY U.K. Style Marketing to Millennials Getting Real With “Gen Wired” Ethnic Marketing: Disinterested Banking Getting Good at Global Sourcing Case in Point Turn Compliance on It's Head Banker’s Mart To Advertise/Index of Advertisers The Economy

ABA Banking Journal - November 2007

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