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ATMs: The next generation

Leland Englebardt on what's driving next-generation ATM deployment

Englebardt has been involved in the next-gen project since the early days. The race car driver/ATM aficionado spoke to us about a next-gen ATM deployer guidebook he's been working on over the last year.

Leland Englebardt on what's driving next-generation ATM deploymentAlong with working on next-gen, Leland Englebardt also races cars. Photo: Team Juicy Racing


| by Amy Castor — Editor, Networld Media Group

In late 2018, the ATM Industry Association launched its consortium for the next-gen ATM project, which now consists of more than 200 global ATM companies working to define a vision for the future of ATMs.

In this article, which is part of a series on the next-gen ATM, we spoke to Leland Englebardt, practice leader at Upshot Advisors, to learn more about his contributions to the initiative.


Google Leland Englebardt, and you will quickly learn that ATMs aren't his only passion. We found lots of pics of him dressed up as a race car driver online, so we had to ask, what's the deal? He told us auto racing has been a lifelong passion of his, first as a spectator and starting about 25 years ago, as an amateur driver. "I’ve even snookered my spouse into the sport as a driver," he told us. 

Switching gears — although, we weren't sure we wanted to — we went on to ask him about his involvement with the next-gen ATM project.

Englebardt first got involved with next-gen early on while he was working at Mastercard, where he oversaw the company's ATM business. He recently finished a series of independent ATM deployer market studies for the U.K., Canada and the U.S., and Germany, all available on ATMIA's website. More recently, he has been working on a next-gen guidebook for ATM deployers, which ATMIA plans to publish before the end of the year.

We spoke with him about the guidebook, which he initiated with ATMIA CEO Mike Lee and Executive Director David Tente. 

Q: What was the genesis of the next-gen deployer guide?

A: We were discussing what kind of research would be most helpful to the broad spectrum of ATMIA members, including manufacturers, software developers, and deployers, who want to adopt next-gen. Deployers are important, because they are the ones who try to make the benefits of next-gen as visible and immediate as possible for consumers. 

But because the project is still in the design and technical development phase, there still are many questions about how next-gen is going to work and how it will impact the practices and equipment that are in place today. So Mike (Lee) and I agreed that it would be valuable for ATMIA members to have a document that would reflect as clearly as possible the best answers to their many questions.

Q: How did you go about the study? Who did you talk to?

A: Mike provided me with a list of about two dozen members of the next-gen ATM consortium as sources of technical information. I reached out to all of those people, and I was able to speak with about 15 or 17 of them. I interviewed each one of them, sometimes more than once, and then I took that input and structured it into a report, organized categorically by subject matter — operations, hardware, software, regulations, etc. 

All in all, the guide has about 14 chapters and concludes with a checklist for deployers on what they ought to be focusing on and questions they ought to be asking themselves about their own systems as they contemplate next-gen.  

Q: Is this a "one and done" kind of document? 

A: No. We view this as a living document. The deployer guide transparently acknowledges that we don't yet have all of the answers to every single question raised. In fact, we don't even have all of the questions yet because the process is ongoing, and we are discovering new things all of the time. 

Q: What are the biggest challenges in getting to next-gen?

A: The whole context of the next-gen ATM is to deliver greater value to the consumers, the people who own and operate ATMs, and every stakeholder in the system. The threshold question for deployers is: What is the value to me and my customers?

In turn, that spawns a universe of other questions, such as what kind of hardware a deployer is using and how capable is that hardware of supporting a greater value delivery. Who are my business partners? Who is my processor? Who is my software supplier? And where are they in their thinking and implementation of next-gen. Those are the top-line questions. Just answering those is a massive step in the right direction for the vast majority of ATM operators. 

Q: Who should read the guide when it comes out and why?

A: The principal audience is the ATM operators, both independent and banks. They should read the guide because they are the most important stakeholders in the next-gen chain or community.  

On the other hand, they are also the least independent segment to the community because, to a greater or lesser extent, they all depend on their business partners, e.g. their processor, their hardware manufacturer, their software supplier. If an independent is branding ATMs on behalf of a bank, they have to wait for all of those parties to be ready, willing, and able to support next-gen before they can. This deployer guide is not only an informational document but a call to arms to that community. The have the most to gain from next-gen because it will directly affect the business that they do.  

Q: How can ATM deployers get more info about the next-gen project?

A: Number one, read the deployer guide when it comes out. Second, get involved with the deployer group that is part of ATMIA's next-gen effort. If you are really serious about getting up to speed for next-gen, you should get involved with the consortium, which is a good place to ask questions.  

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

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ATM Industry Association (ATMIA)

605.692.2263


The ATM Industry Association, founded in 1997, is a global non-profit trade association with over 10,500 members in 65 countries. The membership base covers the full range of this worldwide industry comprising over 2.2 million installed ATMs.

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Amy Castor

Amy Castor has more than 20 years of experience in journalism and mass communications. In the last several years, she has gotten particularly interested cryptocurrencies, blockchain technologies and other evolving forms of payment. Her work has appeared in consumer and trade publications throughout the U.S., including CoinDesk, Forbes, and Bitcoin Magazine. She is now the editor of ATMmarketplace.com and WorldofMoney.com

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ATMs: The next generation


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