People outside the ATM industry are starting to notice the rapid evolution of ATMs. CNN’s Matt Ford ponders what it will mean for the future.
When it comes to ATM use the world is divided — and not just along the usual lines between rich and poor.
While banks in Hong Kong and some countries, such as Spain, Portugal and Russia, offer a wealth of services [through ATMs], banks in the UK and U.S. typically just provide bank account services.
Certainly the age of the network can be a barrier, with countries that have recently installed ATMs — for example India — much better placed to extend services than those with older systems, like the U.S.
But social attitudes also seem to play a part. In the UK, where ATMs are universally referred to as “cash machines”, people seem unwilling to change their habits and prefer online banking.
Ironically, Asia and developing countries may be quicker to embrace new technologies because the U.S. and Europe were so quick to embrace ATMs when they first came out — and now have a mental picture of ATM uses that’s stuck in the past.
It may be that the U.S. and UK are more conservative simply because they have had access to ATMs for longer than other countries where rapid change may have made consumers more willing to be early adopters.
“In Asia overall economic development has been rather sudden, and the technology that provides consumers with banking services has leapfrogged more established economies, like the U.S. and UK,” Tracy Kitten editor of ATMmarketplace.com told CNN.
“Consumers in these developing markets are accustomed to self-service, and advanced functions on self-service devices… because brick and mortar branches are not so commonplace.”
But in the end, it’s just a question of when, not if, new ATM technologies will arrive in force:
“Based on our long experience in the ATM space, we believe the UK and other regions will eventually catch up, it is just a matter of time,” Sharon Dickie, vice president of marketing, NCR Financial Services told CNN.
“Based on [customer] feedback, we have a strong reason to believe that ATM payments and services is a growing trend.
“Using the ATM will open the door to serve a bigger consumer-base, as both account holder and non-account holder can use the service.”
And ATMs may turn out to be a social good:
There could even be a social value to extending ATM services, and it may help narrow the “Digital Divide”.
“Government agencies and financial institutions are relying on multi-service ATMs as solutions for financial inclusion to bring banking services and other government services to individuals not easily reached otherwise,” says Dickie. “Brazil, in particular, is a leader in this area.”
In other words, as we’ve mentioned before, ATMs bring modern banking services and convenience to traditionally “unbanked” and “underbanked” populations, allowing them to participate fully in the modern economy.
We’ll just have to wait a little longer than the rest of the world to get it.
