How to punch above your footprint with branded ATMs

When your customers see your logo and colors on an ATM, they know they’ve found a place to get their banking done. And when they begin to see those recognizable brand signals in places your customers want to be, your brand presence grows.

As consumer preferences around managing their money shift to digital and ATM/ITM, financial institutions (FIs) in North America are looking for ways to strategically expand market presence, balancing branches and ATMs.

That’s the beauty of using network ATMs to build your brand and improve access for your customers: much as a peacock rolls out its feathers, a branding program can roll out a significantly bigger market presence and service level for both customers and prospects. And it can do it fast.

Adding branded ATMs is the fast, easy, strategic way to expand

Part of the appeal of adding your FI’s branding to ATMs at premier retailers is that it can quickly broaden your estate’s geographic footprint in selected markets—increasing market penetration without having to secure locations, build out your network, service ATMs or keep technology up to date (for example, adding new features like larger touchscreens and new crime prevention protocols). By placing your brand on existing ATMs in convenient retail locations in key markets where your customers and target prospects already shop, your FI can raise brand awareness for customers looking for a more convenient banking option while servicing your existing customer base and driving customer retention.

As a distribution strategy, branded ATMs can be combined with a FI’s existing ATM estate and/or with access to shared or independent networks.

In North America, consumers feel strongly about surcharge-free ATM transactions

In the US, there were 451,500 ATMs in 2021—that’s 173 ATMs for every 100,000 adults. Canada has even more ATMs relative to its population: 212 per 100,000 adults. In both countries, most customers expect surcharge-free transactions at their own bank’s ATMs and avoid other ATMs where they’re charged a fee.

Out-of-network ATM fees in the US hit $4.73 per transaction in 2023—a new high—and American consumers typically only pay them under duress: 85% of ATM transactions are in-network, meaning people are willing to go out of their way to avoid those fees. (Only 15% say they don’t care.)

For FIs, one of the critical aspects of branding ATMs is that you can save your customers this fee. It’s a leading way to please existing customers and win new customers who shop where your branded ATMs are. For customers who feel strongly about not paying fees, more ATMs branded with your identity can mean more places to get cash and use other ATM features without fees.

The vast majority of ATM transactions are in-network in the US and Canada, where people will go out of their way to avoid paying fees.

A positively symbiotic relationship with retailers

Many name-brand retailers and convenience stores welcome partnerships with branded network ATMs because they increase foot traffic into the store—including repeat customers who combine errands and others who come in specifically to use their FI’s ATM and may stay to browse while they are there. Retailers tend to like to be associated with brands they consider leaders in their respective fields and local markets. Your FI broadens its presence at premier retail locations, your customers enjoy expanded access and retailers get increased sales. So everybody wins.