Rethinking ATM infrastructure

There has been an increase in campaigns to protect access to cash. In the U.K. alone, cash machine withdrawals dropped by over a third. To stay relevant and competitive, banks must find innovative ways to guarantee ATM availability.

COVID-19 has accelerated digital transformation strategy across all industries. It's no surprise that handling cash has created concern at the start of the pandemic and created a greater interest in ATM cardless cash withdrawals. RBR's report, Global ATM Market and Forecasts to 2025, reveals that the number of ATMs offering this solution is increasing as ATM manufacturers and operators around the world continue to explore, embrace and adopt contactless technologies and new alternatives.

ATM operators are finding ways to deliver cash and other vital services to customers while mitigating risk. In fact, cardholders are making cash withdrawals at contactless ATMs without ever inserting a payment card. ATMs are being equipped with NFC and QR code readers and the interest in these areas continues to increase.

Other machines allow withdrawals via a one-time PIN or display an onscreen QR code, which customers scan using their mobile phones. QR codes are seeing a revival, offering some practical solutions in this increasingly touchless and remote financial marketplace, including making bill payments easier, faster, and more secure.

Using specially equipped ATMs, the customer scans a QR code on the ATM screen using the bank's scanning app. This not only caters to customers who don't like the risk or hassle of carrying their ATM card, but also takes less time to do —– eight seconds compared to 47 seconds per transaction, according to one bank using the technology.

Mobile integration
Cardless transactions go hand-in-hand with strong mobile integrations. Mobile payments provide a secure and convenient alternative to obtaining cash from contactless ATMs using an app. With the increase in fraud cases related to self-service devices, like skimming and jackpotting, mobile cash proves a much secure solution considering it doesn't require the user to insert their debit card or provide sensitive information to the ATM.

Another benefit of mobile cash is if a customer forgets their debit card or just wants to travel with their smartphone, they can still access cash.

The mobile cash app works the same way as a debit card when withdrawing money. If the customer is using an ATM within their bank's network, there usually isn't additional fees charged. Plus, mobile cash provides more security as the code is for one-time use only, unlike debit cards that prompt you for the same code each time they are used and are more prone to fraud.

Customers expect personalized and seamless experiences from their banks. To achieve this, banks can opt for highly secure and fully integrated solutions such as WWS Mobile, a highly secure and fully integrated solution that provides a rich suite of mobile banking, payments, alerts and messaging services. For the consumer, this service offers a wide range of banking and payment services in the most cost-effective way, resulting in higher consumer satisfaction and innovative revenue opportunities.

It helps to tailor consumers' ATM experience by considering how they can benefit from the mobile journey and how banks can use mobile phones to enhance the services they provide through all their delivery channels.

Biometric authentication
Biometric authentication can include voice, palm, fingerprint and face recognition. There is also artificial intelligence and natural language machine learning that are on the verge of transforming the fabric of voice-driven customer experience through pioneering speech recognition technology.

In Spain, Bankia enables remote contracting of financial products and services through the identification and registration of clients by video. There is scanning and verification of official identification documentation. This solution represents a comprehensive vision of the merging process of physical and digital channels through the creation of an ecosystem that covers all the phases of service.

Reinventing the ATM?
Even after the current pandemic fades, we should expect to see the financial services industry continue to innovate and develop new forms of ATM architecture. This is necessary for implementing new mobile cash technologies. Banks need to rethink their ATM infrastructure and invest in advanced software solutions to boost the profitability and functionality of the machines.

Banks financial institutions should consider using a channel integration model in order to easily implement a full ATM-mobile integration and embrace contactless technologies and adopt new solutions. It would also allow cardless ATM machines to behave like any other digital channel so that customers are able to access their bank and their cash how and when it suits them.

Having ATM software that enables seamless alignment with current and future needs is going to be key in the future. Customers demand consistency between mobile and physical channels: ATMs that meet those needs will lead to greater usage and could even reduce the cost per transaction of maintaining an ATM system.