Hot Markets and Best Practices for ATM Operators in 2012

January 5, 2012

Mike Lee is the CEO of the ATM Industry Association, a global non-profit trade association with over 2,500 members in 60 countries. He gave PYMNTS his predictions for ATM growth hot spots in 2012, as well as how Dodd-Frank will impact the industry. 

(Related Story: ATM Skimming Goes 3D… to the Tune of $400K!) 

PYMNTS.com: Please introduce yourself to the PYMNTS.com audience and share a little bit about what you’re working on right now.

MIKE LEE: Mike Lee, CEO, of ATMIA, a global non-profit trade association with over 2500 members in 60 countries. I have been with ATMIA for 11 years. New projects we are working on at the moment include an ATM Global Benchmarking service for banks and Independent ATM Deployers (IADs), eLearning modules for ATM Operators’ best practices, as well as new committees, including the ATM Cash Council, a Security Council to assess emerging threats to ATM security and a Global Bank Council to evaluate technology convergences within self-service.

PYMNTS.com: Global Industry Analysts Inc. recently predicted that the global installed base of ATMs will reach 3.9 million units by 2017; consulting firm Retail Banking Research says it will be closer 3.4 million units. What do you believe is the most accurate forecast?

LEE: I back the RBR forecasts because they are based on actual global data going back over a decade and on the average global rate of growth of ATMs.

PYMNTS.com: In the next five years, which global markets do you predict will experience the greatest ATM growth and why? Are there any markets in which you believe ATM usage will decrease?

LEE: India, China and Russia will all experience rapid growth. There will be growth in all developing countries from Asia to Africa, from Eastern Europe to South America. Total ATM usage will not decrease as such in any country but there may be declines in transaction volumes per ATM in mature markets across the world. For more details, speak to RBR please:

Dominic Hirsch, Managing Director

Retail Banking Research

393 Richmond Road, London TW1 2EF, UK

D: +44 20 8831 7302 T: +44 20 8831 7300 F: +44 20 8831 7301

www.rbrlondon.com

PYMNTS.com: Why has deposit automation remained a major component of global growth?

LEE: It extends the concept of the automated “teller,” lowers costs and increases convenience.

PYMNTS.com: What, in your view, will be the “killer app” ?

LEE: ATM cash recirculation (cash deposits) as it lowers costs of cash.

PYMNTS.com: To what extent has or will the new debit regulations impacted the ATM industry?

LEE: The jury is still out on that, but it looks like it could lead, overall, to higher aggregate cash usage for retail payments, with some merchants even incentivizing cash payments, which would directly benefit the ATM industry as ATMs are the main channel for distributing cash in today’s economies.