Buying an ATM involves two related but different transactions: buying a machine, and finding a processing company to handle the transactions for the machine.
Many buyers focus heavily on the first transaction, and that’s understandable: they’re spending a couple thousand dollars on a piece of hardware. They want to make sure they get the right machine at a good price, along with decent after-the-sale support like shipping, installation, training, warranties, repairs and so on.
But a lot of ATM owners don’t pay enough attention to the second transaction, and that’s a mistake: in the long run, the processing company you choose will have a bigger effect on your business than the model of ATM you bought or the price you paid for it.
Consider two owners who buy the same machine. One pays $2000; one pays $2500. The machines both earn $500 a month, on top of the other ATM benefits like increased sales and reduced bad-check charges.
The first owner will pay off the machine in four months; the second owner will pay it off in five months. After that, there’s no difference in the profitability of the machines.
But processing contracts tend to cover long periods of time — five years or more. So the processing company you choose will affect your business long after you’ve forgotten how much you paid for your machine. That’s why it pays to choose your processor even more carefully than you choose your machine.
Here are some things to look for in a processing company:
Do they have a track record?
You’re going to be trusting your business to your processor for a long time. You want some assurance that they will be around for the long haul. Find out how long they’ve been in business and how many machines they handle processing for. Ask for customer testimonials or industry endorsements.
Are they trustworthy?
This is a big one. You depend on your processor for all of your ATM profits. They’re responsible for calculating your surcharge revenue and paying it to you every month, accurately and on time. Your processor also reimburses you for money that customers withdraw from the machine. Can you trust them to handle all that money and get it to you on time, every time?
In Arizona, for example, an ATM company named Global Cash was recently fined and nearly barred from doing business in the state because it defrauded banks by miscoding cash advance transactions and then misled regulators about it.
In California, the owner of All States ATM recently pleaded guilty to charges of defrauding investors by claiming to be an eight-year-old company with hundreds of employees and ATMs, when in fact there was nothing.
Clearly, you don’t want to trust your money and ATM income to a processor that is at risk of legal trouble or willing to cut ethical corners. Either one can hurt your business, even if you’re not a direct victim of their actions.
What services do they provide?
Does the company merely process transactions? Do they have a service department in case your machine breaks down? Do they offer on-going technical support for operating your machine? Do they provide guidance on how to get the most value out of your machine through proper placement, signage and use? Do they offer ways to upgrade or customize your machine, such as wireless connections, advertising surrounds or custom advertising screens? When you have problems or questions, are they easy to reach? Or do you always get voicemail and they never return your calls?
Do your homework on your processing company, and you’ll be much happier — and more profitable — in the years to come.
ATM Network
So how does ATM Network stack up? Quite well, we think. Some things to know about us:
- We’ve been in business for 13 years.
- In that time we’ve grown steadily, and now service more than 5,000 locations.
- We’ve been a member of the Better Business Bureau since 2001.
- We’re listed on Dun & Bradstreet.
- We have a nationwide service and parts department, staffed with skilled technicians who can fix your machine or help you access advanced features.
- We’re the exclusive online ATM provider for Sam’s Club.
- We have lots of customer testimonials and industry endorsements.
- We provide 24/7 customer service, with fast, helpful response times.
- We offer automatic direct deposit of your money — on time, every time. Every day we reimburse you for customer withdrawals, and every month we send you your surcharge income.
- We offer lots of customization and upgrade options, as well as kiosks and advertising surrounds.
Even better, processing with ATM Network costs you nothing. We make our money from your customers’ banks, not you. So you keep 100% of your surcharge revenue while knowing your processing is being handled by one of the most stable, responsive and trustworthy companies in the business.
We also offer great prices on ATMs. Why? Because we make money on processing. Without the machine, there are no transactions to process. So we sell our ATMs almost at cost in order to get your processing business. Then we ship it to you for free, advise you on the best place to put it, install it, train you to operate it and give you signs to advertise it.
That’s why we’ve been in business for 13 years. It’s why we have thousands of locations, and a long list of endorsements and testimonials. And it’s why thousands of smart ATM owners trust us to handle their processing.
