In a BAI Retail Delivery Conference summit session titled “Level the Playing Field: Reinventing Your ATM Channel Strategy,” presenters discussed ATM customers’ usage behavior, the surcharge fee landscape, and ways in which FIs can leverage the ATM channel to remain competitive.
In order to take advantage of customer demand for convenience, Compass Bank is currently undertaking an aggressive ATM deployment throughout its region, installing machines with image deposit capabilities. According to Andy Hernandez, executive vice president and director of Channel Development for BBVA Compass Bank, by the end of the year, more than half the projected fleet will support image deposit. This push to reconfigure the fleet was driven primarily by customer response and feedback, he said.
“Image deposit, in the last decade, has been the game changer. In my opinion, it’s one of the best innovations that have changed the ATM business. We’re able to extend our [deposit] cut-off times. The bank closes at 5 p.m., you want to make a deposit at 5:30 p.m.— how great is it that you have until 8 or 9 p.m. to make that deposit and get same day credit?” Hernandez said.
Hernandez compared getting customers to use the image deposit feature through the ATM for the first time to trying, in the recent past, to get customers to pay bills online. While it was a difficult sell, once customers tried it, they used it with increasing frequency, he said.
The ATM channel continues to grow in popularity as new capabilities are added to ATM machines, and organizations upgrade their ATM fleets. These features make it easier for customers to use ATMs for transactions that used to require a teller, and provide financial institutions an opportunity to place greater emphasis on self-service transactions while allowing customers improved ease-of-use.
Read full article: http://www.atmmarketplace.com/articl…he-ATM-channel
