Article Regarding Mobile ATMs Is Published in the M2M Magazine January/ February 2006 issue

M2M Innovates ATM

Wireless Machine-To-Machine Connectivity Lets Banks Put Their ATMs Right Where The Action Is.

Automatic teller machines are a pervasive convenience today. Back in 1973 when David Wetzel and two other engineers patented the ATM, self-service banking was new to the American psyche. The return on investment that their invention brought to financial institutions was grounded in metrics combining improved customer retention rates based on shorter lines and real dollars saved by reducing the number of bank tellers on the payroll.

Little did the innovators at Chemical Bank know, when they installed the first ATM machine outside one of their New York branches, that what started as a way to speed up simple bank transactions would evolve into a nationwide network where money transactions are processed via wireline modems. Indeed, banks cooperate with each other so that a customer of one bank can use an ATM of another for cash access, albeit with a fee attached. When the ATM surcharges emerged in the 1990s, they usually were on the order of $0.25. Quickly, however, they climbed. ATM fees now commonly reach $1.50, and can be as high as $5, especially around bars and casinos. In cases where fees are paid both to the bank and the ATM owner, withdrawal fees can potentially reach $10. This fee can add up to some very attractive profit if enough people from competing banks use your ATM.

Since the going rate for an ATM these days is in the $150,000 range, it only makes sense for banks to move these very expensive machines to the areas where demanded for quick cash is highest. However, wireline connections are not always available where the action is, be it where a major sports event is being played, a major concert is being staged, or to a popular shopping mall during the holiday season…Enter the era of mobile ATMs.

Facilitating a “portable ATM” relies on a wireless router inside of the ATM sending digital data to the bank’s central computer over a public wireless wide-area network rather than a leased line. Free of wires, the ATM can be transported to the next Barbra Streisand Farewell Concert in order to start collecting those $2 fees. When this M2M solution is properly executed, transactional security is commensurate to what a security officer would like to see in a wired environment.

As 3G public networks continue to be rolled out across the country, banks will begin to use wireless data communications as their primary means of ATM connectivity, replacing the leased lines in place today. And there are other exciting developments coming down the pipe. With the greater bandwidth afforded by 3G, additional options for portable ATMs in development are emerging as well.

About USAT Corp.
USAT Corp, www.usatcorp.com, a privately held company headquartered in Chapel Hill, NC, is a full-service solution partner engaged in variety of industries. USAT Corp. procures, implements, and supports the components needed for wireless communications connectivity to mobile and fixed assets. USAT Corp. is focused on providing wireless revenue generation points such as ATMs and POS systems. USAT’s Coverage Tester can help USAT’s clients determine public network carrier by testing wireless coverage availability. For more information about USAT’s Coverage Tester, please click here. (Hyperlinked to: http://www.usatcorp.com/solutions/coverage_tester.asp.)

Media Contact:
Beverly McRae,
919-942-4214 x 205
beverlym@usatcorp.com