Looking back: Top blogs of 2022

Last year, ATM Marketplace hosted a vast array of blogs which examined every aspect of the industry — from the advantage of cash to advances in biometrics.

Our readers in 2022 were particularly interested in blogs that looked forward to the (then) new year of 2022 and how ATMs would adjust to changing trends in both customer desires and COVID-19 requirements.

This interest included the explosion of bitcoin ATMs and how those machines came to dominate the landscape of the U.S.

Here are the top five most read blogs on ATM Marketplace in 2022:

5. What's the advantage of cash?

Cash has certainly taken a lot of hits over the years. From the advent of credit and debit cards to mobile payments, there have been many challengers to the medium. In addition, COVID-19 caused many people to abandon cash in fear of "dirty" banknotes. But despite all of that, cash remains a popular payment method around the world. But the question is: Why is this? What are the advantages of cash?

Simple: it's fast, it's easy to budget and it's private.

4. 2 reasons to deploy more ATMs in 2022

A lot has changed these past years, but several trends have remained steady across all business verticals, such as the increasing customer desire for both customization and a consistent experience across all platforms.

In the financial world in particular, customers are increasingly examining their options, and aren't necessarily staying loyal to their current banks. As Alex Sion, global consumer banking lead at Citi Ventures put it the closing keynote at the Bank Customer Experience Summit held in Chicago from Sept. 13 to 15: "Customer loyalty is up for grabs."

In this climate, it might make sense to reduce the number of ATMs due to concern over cleanliness and demand for cashless products, but we at ATM Marketplace believe it is a better idea to deploy more ATMs this year.

Don't believe us? Here are two reasons you should consider deploying more ATMs: they expand banking access and they can offer a full branch experience.

3. Why Bitcoin ATMs are now everywhere: The real story

Today it isn't hard to find a Bitcoin ATM. Consumers can easily find them in gas stations and most convenience stores across the country.

This wasn't the case just a few years ago. Indeed, over the past two years we have seen an absolute explosion of growth in the installation of Bitcoin ATMs. According to CoinAtmRadar, today there are more than 32,000 Bitcoin ATMs in the U.S. Compare that to 2020, when there were just a little over 4,000.

There is no denying that this is an incredible growth story. And while some have argued that this ongoing trend is a direct result of the value of bitcoin as an investment coupled with the economic climate, there is more to the story. A number of factors are driving this rate of expansion in the Bitcoin ATM space – it is not only the attractiveness or lack thereof on any given day of bitcoin.

2. Biometrics: The next step forward in ATM security

What if you didn't have to remember a PIN or worry about someone skimming your card every time you went to use an ATM?

Passwords are easy to forget, and they can be a pain to recover, especially if you are in a hurry. The idea behind biometrics is that they only rely on some measure of your body, which is unique to each person. If implemented correctly, you don't need a password or even a smart card to access cash.

Biometrics promise a smoother customer experience and reductions in fraud. The technology is big business, too. The biometric market is expected to be worth $32.7 billion by 2022.

What follows are the basic types of biometrics that are being used or piloted on ATMs today and a few of their drawbacks.

1. Examining future ATM trends in 2022

As has been true every year, our predictions will likely prove to be off the mark, highly questionable or just plain wrong. And yet, we will prognosticate again this year, on the off chance that do manage to land a few correct guesses. Here is where we see the ATM industry headed.

• Global cash use will continue to decline.
• Global supply chain woes will continue.
• TR-31 Key Block upgrades will begin.
• ATM industry consolidation will continue.
• ATMs will become more and less complex.