The downtime dilemma and how to solve for it

It’s Monday morning of a new week. You spent your commute looking forward to your day, which was to dive in to your financial institution’s ambitious plan to open new branches, add ATMs and improve operating processes. You could hardly wait to get to the branch! But when you arrived, it was to find 11 emails from branches about outages at ATM locations. Which supplier do you call for each? It’s hard to know until you talk to the people involved. And there goes your day—putting out fires instead of forging ahead. Again.

Your ATM estate has the power to shift routine transactions to the self-service channel so your customer-facing staff can focus on building meaningful relationships and upselling higher value services—and so your financial institution’s leadership can focus on the future. But keeping your automated teller machines secure, compliant, always on and up to date is no small feat. Too often, it’s more about troubleshooting problems than serving as the brand ambassador you need.

The challenges of managing your ATM estate

If a FI maintains its ATMs in-house—even with some supplier support—it faces four main challenges:

• Unpredictable capital costs. Branch maintenance costs are increasing and ATM estate costs are no exception. It’s hard to predict when hardware and software will need to be replaced or upgraded, so it’s difficult to budget for these expenses.
  
• Limited resources for maintenance efforts. When in-house ATM maintenance teams operate with limited budgets and staffing, you can find yourselves delivering reactive rather than proactive service, which in turn tends to lead to unexpected outages.
  
• Parts availability. If all the necessary replacement parts aren’t stocked in inventory, obtaining them can cause delays, further prolonging an outage.
  
• 24/7/365 management. ATM outages don’t confine themselves to business hours, so there’s no letup for maintenance crews. Plus, when multiple suppliers are part of the team and responsibilities aren’t completely clear, it isn’t always apparent who to call when something goes wrong. And will they be able to fix the problem promptly and at what cost?

How ATM as a Service can help FIs meet these challenges

Outsourcing the management of the ATM channel to an As a Service provider is a growing trend in financial services—one that is predicted to reach nearly 70 billion by 2030 because it’s helping banks and credit unions solve the above challenges. A dedicated ATM management supplier can deliver a seamless experience by keeping your estate up and running—and serve your customers with the innovations and features they’ve come to want.

Reduced downtime is just one of the many benefits FIs can reap from ATM as a Service. Others include:

• Cost-effectiveness. Outsourcing can eradicate the unpredictable cost exposure of running your own ATM estate. Streamlining the cost of running the ATM channel through a strategic partner means you have a single monthly bill. With ATM as a Service, your partner is responsible for the channel’s end-to-end services, including the cost of maintaining the hardware and software that keep your ATM online and available.
  
• Scalability. Often, having capital tied up in the maintenance and management of outdated technology can be a barrier to growth. ATM as a Service not only relieves the CAPEX burden but allows for a more scalable self-service environment that you can grow with, rather than outgrow. The relief in resource means you can focus your skilled workforce in activities that attract new customers and grow revenue.
  
• Frees you up to focus on your core business. By outsourcing the management of the ATM channel to a partner, FIs can focus on what they do best: working with customers. Placing the responsibility of running the technology platform on proven experts can free your internal resources to execute on key business objectives.

“As a Service is about so much more than just outsourcing the ATM channel,” said Joe Gallagher, senior vice president of products for NCR Atleos. “For financial institutions globally, it’s about focusing on their core competency, which is building strong financial relationships with customers and differentiating their brand in market. It lets them unburden themselves from the management of the channel and partner with a technology and service expert to deliver that channel on their behalf. Selecting the right partner to do so is about considering who is best placed to deliver the end-to-end service.”

Here's what ATM as a Service enables

• Innovative technology. An outsourcing partner takes responsibility for keeping technology refreshed through alternative buying options and standard configurations—so you can offer your customers the latest innovations in self-service technology.

• Installation and proactive maintenance. The partner manages the deployment, monitoring and on-going maintenance of your channel’s technology with a large pool of experienced technicians, standardized processes and extensive parts inventories—so you can focus your resources and skills on customer and growth initiatives.

• Customer-first experiences. Maintaining high levels of ATM uptime is the partner’s job, not the Fis. Digital-first customers expect consistent ATM availability and simple, convenient options. The partner makes that happen, so you can deliver exceptional customer experiences and enhancing your brand with an always on, always available self-service channel.

• Current and compliant security. The partner protects your customer by ensuring that ATM applications and logical security are up to date and compliant with government requirements. This way, you can have the peace of mind of knowing your customer data is secure.

• Manage demand for cash. Rely on your partner to meet consumer demand with on-time deliveries while optimizing your costs—so you can maintain the right balance between cash costs and avoiding no-cash situations.

• Optimization consultancy. Your partner consults with you to keep the estate appealing and profitable for your business—so your brand can remain fresh, modern and aligned to market trends and consumer behavior.

• Service operations/delivery. It’s important to have one primary point of contact as the key link and driver in your partnership. That contact should be the driving force in the partnership.

• Data insights and visualizations. With regular reports from your partner on ATM channel performance and consolidated customer data visualizations via a dashboard, you always have up-to-date reports and analysis—for complete visibility into your estate’s performance every time.

Related: First National Bank of Omaha Case Study: ATM as a Service

Case in point: What ATM as a Service did for Santander

Santander UK, part of global Banco Santander S.A., expanded its long-standing partnership with NCR, selecting NCR Atleos ATM as a Service to transform, connect and run its self-service network of more than 1,700 ATMs across the UK in 2022.

Kirsty Lacey, COO of everyday banking at Santander, says the move enables them to “offer customers a better self-service banking experience, including greater ATM availability to serve them when and where they choose” while simplifying their operations and providing a more sustainable service for the bank.

Considerations in choosing a service partner

While As a Service can offer significant benefits, not all service providers can offer the end-to-end management of the ATM channel. Important considerations must be addressed in your selection process.

• Capability. Can they do it all? Whether you're looking to outsource the core responsibilities of ATM channel, or the end-to-end service, your partner should be able to deliver the outcome you are outsourcing for. They should also be able to scale your service, so as you grow, your technology service can grow with you.

• Expertise. Taking your ATM estate to the next level calls for extensive industry and technology expertise. That means having access to the right people, processes and insights to make informed business decisions on your behalf. Consider selecting a strategic partner that manufactures your technology, too. Having easy access to the people developing your solutions can ensure access to the latest information, parts and roadmaps.

• Commitment. Once you choose a partner, switching to another if it isn’t a fit can be time-consuming. Be sure to evaluate candidates carefully, asking questions about their track record, reputation, product development, processes, pricing and service options.

• Delegation of control. You're in the business of people, your ATM partner is in the business of technology. While ATM as a Service means ceding a measure of control over your self-service channel to a partner, you'll be empowered to do other things that matter to your clients. Selecting a partner that will work hand in glove with you to deliver an exceptional service at the ATM is critical to success.

• Security evaluations. Make sure your partner has robust security measures in place to protect sensitive customer data at every touchpoint. (Remember: your security measures are only as robust as those of the supplier you partner with!)

At the crossroads of tradition and transformation, your ATM channel should not be left behind. Your ATMs are an extension of your brand footprint, so ensuring they are always on, secure and compliant is key to delivering a frictionless experience for your customers and ensuring customer satisfaction.

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