Bank Machine, the supplier of ATMs, has introduced a Cockney rhyming slang option on five of their East London ATM machines http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/6077110/Cockney-rhyming-slang-introduced-in-bank-machines.html]. This is part of a three month campaign intended to be an amusing way of recognising the cockney dialect traditionally spoken in East London. If successful, it’s thought that Bank Machine may expand the campaign further to include Geordie, Scouse, Brummie and Scots dialects.
The campaign has had a positive response with many locals and tourist going to “have a butchers” (look) at the unique ATMs. Unlike most of Bank Machines’ other ATMs, the five cockney slang ones are currently free of charges. While this is a light hearted way of recognising the cockney dialect, it highlights how financial institutions recognise the importance of interacting with their customers and the lengths they are willing to go to retain their loyalty. In a time when banks face the challenges of retaining customer trust and facing aggressive competition, it is vital they remain innovative across all channels especially the ATMs, the most frequent touch point for banking customers.
Friday, 28 August 2009
Wednesday, 12 August 2009
The Introduction of Personal Teller Machines
No matter how sophisticated ATMs become technologically, there will always be a contingent of consumers that insist on live teller interaction as part of their banking experience. With some large banks planning on closing hundreds of branch locations, however, they run the risk of alienating these customers. As financial institutions look to scale back their branch networks, personal teller machine (PTM) may provide the opportunity to maintain the teller experience without the expense of a brick-and-mortar branch.
We are seeing the concept of PTMs growing in popularity with financial institutions in the U.S., particularly within the credit union market. These highly innovative machines can facilitate any transaction normally done by a live teller, but promise to provide a more flexible and efficient workforce. To use these machines, all a member or customer has to do is touch the screen monitor on the PTM. They are then connected to a teller that operates the system remotely to monitor and service the customer’s transactions.
So, how is this different from using a traditional ATM? With a PTM machine, the customer is connected to a live teller via phone and video and the teller actually conducts the transaction. While these machines allow financial institutions to offer traditional teller service beyond the traditional 9 to 5 banking hours, they are still required to employ tellers to man the machines and conduct the transactions. Customers will have a slightly different experience using a PTM than they will using a traditional ATM. With the ATM everything is automated, and there is no need to have a live person help facilitate transactions. At the ATM and PTM, customers can withdrawal and deposit cash and checks, pay bills, check account balance and transfer funds between accounts, on a 24/7 basis. The difference is that with a PTM, a customer actually corresponds with a live teller.
Both machines can be placed in areas outside the traditional branch, making banking easier and more convenient for a larger number of people. It has been proven that ease and convenience are dominant selection criteria when consumers choose a financial institution. We, along with the entire industry, will watch with interest as these machines start to make their way into financial institutions and how consumers respond to the new machines and services offered.
Martin Macmillan
We are seeing the concept of PTMs growing in popularity with financial institutions in the U.S., particularly within the credit union market. These highly innovative machines can facilitate any transaction normally done by a live teller, but promise to provide a more flexible and efficient workforce. To use these machines, all a member or customer has to do is touch the screen monitor on the PTM. They are then connected to a teller that operates the system remotely to monitor and service the customer’s transactions.
So, how is this different from using a traditional ATM? With a PTM machine, the customer is connected to a live teller via phone and video and the teller actually conducts the transaction. While these machines allow financial institutions to offer traditional teller service beyond the traditional 9 to 5 banking hours, they are still required to employ tellers to man the machines and conduct the transactions. Customers will have a slightly different experience using a PTM than they will using a traditional ATM. With the ATM everything is automated, and there is no need to have a live person help facilitate transactions. At the ATM and PTM, customers can withdrawal and deposit cash and checks, pay bills, check account balance and transfer funds between accounts, on a 24/7 basis. The difference is that with a PTM, a customer actually corresponds with a live teller.
Both machines can be placed in areas outside the traditional branch, making banking easier and more convenient for a larger number of people. It has been proven that ease and convenience are dominant selection criteria when consumers choose a financial institution. We, along with the entire industry, will watch with interest as these machines start to make their way into financial institutions and how consumers respond to the new machines and services offered.
Martin Macmillan
Monday, 10 August 2009
Biometric Vending Machines – what next for self service security?
Hitachi has unveiled a biometric vending machine, which uses finger vein authentication technology to allow pre-registered users to buy goods. The cost is then directly charged to their credit cards.
Such developments are encouraging for both the self service and banking sectors. Biometric technology has been seen as something of a silver bullet in terms of increasing the speed and security of automated transactions. ATM fraud is a growing problem with skimming and video devices able to access customer details relatively easily. However if transactions were authorised by a PIN combined with biometric information, this type of fraud would be impossible.
Consequently, biometric technology is increasingly on the agenda and has begun to be deployed by banks in the Middle East, for example Barclays in the UAE implemented biometric fingerprint technology in late 2007. However pan-regional deployment by banks is far from widespread in part because:
1) There are no comprehensive standards as yet (Visa and Mastercard are currently working on this) relating to biometrics so it is dependent on the deploying party
2) It involves significant expense, investment and resources
3) Such sophisticated technology requires more thorough testing and simulation scenarios that require effective automated tools to be used as opposed to a traditional manual process
As the growth of fraud continues, the business case for biometrics at the ATM is increasing. Consequently banks need to consider how this technology would impact the terminal, not just in terms of one off deployment but in terms of long term functionality and maintenance.
Issa Keshek
Such developments are encouraging for both the self service and banking sectors. Biometric technology has been seen as something of a silver bullet in terms of increasing the speed and security of automated transactions. ATM fraud is a growing problem with skimming and video devices able to access customer details relatively easily. However if transactions were authorised by a PIN combined with biometric information, this type of fraud would be impossible.
Consequently, biometric technology is increasingly on the agenda and has begun to be deployed by banks in the Middle East, for example Barclays in the UAE implemented biometric fingerprint technology in late 2007. However pan-regional deployment by banks is far from widespread in part because:
1) There are no comprehensive standards as yet (Visa and Mastercard are currently working on this) relating to biometrics so it is dependent on the deploying party
2) It involves significant expense, investment and resources
3) Such sophisticated technology requires more thorough testing and simulation scenarios that require effective automated tools to be used as opposed to a traditional manual process
As the growth of fraud continues, the business case for biometrics at the ATM is increasing. Consequently banks need to consider how this technology would impact the terminal, not just in terms of one off deployment but in terms of long term functionality and maintenance.
Issa Keshek
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