Article

ATMs dispense money and a whole lot more

Added convenience for movie-goers may be just the ticket for driving new ATM transactions for The Co-Op Network, which is piloting NCR's iATMglobal.

October 23, 2003

Added convenience for movie-goers may be just the ticket for driving new ATM transactions for a credit union which is piloting iATMglobal, NCR's advanced functionality program.

The Co-Op Network, working with NCR master VAR FTSI, earlier this summer installed iATMglobal on an NCR Personas 86 at a branch of one of its members, the California Center Credit Union in Ontario, Calif.

Gene Polito, Co-Op Network's president of EFT services, said the ability to purchase movie tickets -- one of the iATM functionalities offered along with purchase of prepaid phone time and ordering flowers -- is a natural for the branch, which is located near a large movie theater with multiple screens.

ATM users pay a 75-cent service charge for the ability to order their movie tickets up to three days in advance via iATMglobal and its partner Movietickets.com. "It's worth it for the convenience of not having to stand in long lines at the theater," Polito said.

Many Co-Op Network employees are members of the credit union, and the branch is located near Co-Op Network headquarters, which makes it easy to garner feedback on the functionality, Polito said.

"Right now we're monitoring how all of the transactions work, to make sure everything functions as it should," Polito said.

Small but mighty

Based on the performance of the California Center Credit Union machine, Polito said he expects to offer iATMglobal to Co-Op Network's 1,300 credit union members within the next few months.

Noting that a number of Co-Op Network members have expressed interest in advanced functionality, Polito said that smaller financial institutions often move more quickly than their larger counterparts when it comes to new ATM initiatives.

"In many cases, credit unions have the ability to make decisions more rapidly because they don't have to go through the multiple levels of approval that a larger financial institution does," Polito said. "They also tend to have fewer ATM locations, so it doesn't take as long to roll out something new."

Susan Napier, president of FTSI, agreed with Polito. "Credit unions generally can cut through the red tape a lot faster," she said.

Napier said that iATMglobal was easy to implement because NCR handles all of the back-office switching of the new transactions. Cash withdrawals and other standard ATM transactions are sent to the Co-Op Network's transaction processor eFunds, while iATMglobal transactions such as ticket orders go directly to NCR's iATMglobal infrastructure, which then routes them to the appropriate service providers.

NCR became the first ATM manufacturer to offer "live" advanced function transactions -- prepaid movie tickets and prepaid wireless phone time and long distance -- with iATMglobal in late 2002.

NCR, originally an investor in iATMglobal, acquired the now wholly owned subsidiary from its investment partner TRM Corp. in early 2002 after the Portland, Ore.-based ISO's effort to develop an infrastructure to support iATMglobal's software stalled.

Strategic Software Solutions, the Scottish company that developed the iATMglobal software, also created the @tmLink software used for remote monitoring and management of NCR's Easy Point line of ATMs.

Forward with functionality

Robb Straub, head of the iATMglobal program, told ATMmarketplace in August that eight deployers including one financial institution were offering iATMglobal transactions. At that time, Straub said two more contracts were pending.

In addition to Movietickets.com, NCR's iATMglobal partners include BCGI (prepaid cellular); INComm (multiple prepaid products and services); MCI WorldCom and Radiant (both prepaid long distance); Flowers USA (flower sales) and Sonymusic.com (CDs, gift certificates and other products)

While Napier said iATMglobal and other advanced functionality programs such as Triton's Waves -- which offers PaySpot prepaid phone time, CashWorks check cashing and Western Union money transfers -- are "just coming of age," she expects to see a big boost in activity in 2004.

"I think you're going to see a big move to Windows-based platforms along with Triple DES upgrades, and there will be many, many more functions you can do with Windows. That's what will help push it to the mainstream," she said.