Moving with the times

Recently Wells Fargo announced that it is extending its m-banking application range and text banking services. Through the new app, customers will be able to access their current account balances and transaction history, make payments and locate ATMs using GPS technology.

This latest development in ATM location services using smartphones indicates how the ATM is increasingly integrating with new technology in order to facilitate convenient and improved service for customers, to meet new demands and expectations.

We are in the era of Generation Y, the tech savvy, mobile, busy, service-demanding customer for whom the smartphone is the gadget of choice. Integrating the ATM with multichannel technology assists banks in attracting a new breed of customer, and enables them to improve their service and respond to customers in a way that is most convenient to them.

However the fact remains, people will always need cash. Despite all of the recent developments in banking technology and the creation of new service channels, the ATM remains the most utilised customer touch point in banking. It is important that banks continue to prioritise it, ensure that maximum uptime is maintained and customer demands are met so that positive brand reputation is driven through this channel.

Ian Kerr

The service potential of the ATM

The banking industry is becoming increasingly competitive as new players such as Metro Bank, due to launch this month, enter the market. Consequently all banks are prioritising customer service in order to improve satisfaction and retention.

In Chris Skinner’s blog, The Finanser, he highlights a survey carried out by Deloitte on “Positioning for a new financial landscape”. According to Deloitte, most banks agree that their customers and the bank’s relationship with their customers has suffered the most as a result of the financial crisis. As a result, prioritising this relationship and rebuilding customer trust is now the number one priority for banks.

Level Four found that this sentiment was echoed at the European ATMs show where results from its delegate survey show that a key priority for ATM industry professionals is to improve customer service. Furthermore, 27% of ATM professionals state that investing in new technologies to improve the quality of the customer experience at the ATM is key.

Having pointed to a lack of customer trust, Chris Skinner goes on to ask the question, “how do banks plan to rebuild these relationships?” He used the BBVA ATM network as an example. This is unsurprising considering that the ATM continues to be the bank’s primary customer touch-point and, because of this, any changes at the terminal have an immediate impact on both existing and potential customers.

The BBVA ATM of the future looks like this:

BBVA's ATM of the Future from Chris Skinner on Vimeo.

The BBVA is a great example of how a bank has set out to “humanize” the channel and provide an ATM which is “built from user up, rather than components down”. Similarly, Barclays are rolling out a brand new ATM network, as per the below, in order to drive customer retention and brand reputation.

Customer service is clearly a top priority throughout the industry and, with the ATM at the front line in banking reputation, the time is now for banks to update their ATM infrastructure to ensure that they are able to provide a modern, reliable and value-add service at this channel.

Ian Kerr

Top priority for banks is maximising ATM revenue through increased customer service

This month we carried out the annual survey of ATM industry specialists, polling attendees at the European ATMs show. The survey presented some interesting results that revealed the top priority for 39 per cent of ATM industry professionals is maximising ATM revenue. 25 per cent of respondents believe the opportunity to enhance customer services at the ATM lies in integrating the ATM channel with other banking channels, showing that priorities have changed since 2009, when the top focus then was reducing network downtime.

Although there is still a lot of work to do, banks have recently made significant inroads to ensure downtime has a decreasing impact on the ATM network which is why this year’s results show reliability is no longer deemed as major a concern. The industry now needs to make the connection between its investment in technology infrastructure and the business improvements that this can deliver. However, 31 per cent of those surveyed consider tighter budget controls a lingering issue since the onset of the recession, placing more pressure on maximising profits and essentially doing more with less.

As industry players in the ATM channel go beyond simply creating and fine tuning ATM technology, the evidence shows that the priorities are now shifting and 27 per cent of industry players are focusing on improving customer service at the ATM. This again highlights a change in priorities from last year where just 11 per cent of respondents saw rolling out new customer services as important.

At the same time, 30 per cent of respondents are making future technology investments to generate cost savings through improved efficiency at the ATM. These technology investments go against the grain of most during the downturn. 21 per cent of respondents claimed that budget cuts elsewhere in the bank have resulted in increased budgets for self-service channels such as the ATM.

Having become the most utilised customer touch-point in retail banking, this increase indicates that the industry recognises the long term efficiencies that investing in the ATM can achieve. As banks deliver more sophisticated services and increased functionality at the ATM it will become evermore crucial that ATM technology operates to full capacity and provides the service that the customer will naturally expect.

Ian Kerr

BBA statistics on ATM transaction volumes

Interesting stats from the British Bankers Association, which were referenced on The Finanser blog today, state that every ten minutes £3.2 million in cash is withdrawn by 48,000 people visiting a UK ATM.

Ian Kerr