ATMs: changing fundamentals

Font Size

Print

Feedback

Email

Discuss

: The Indian ATM industry has seen explosive growth in recent times and Banks have committed to substantial capital outlays on ATM deployment, recognizing the significance of the 3 Ms – Maintenance, Monitoring and Management – of the ATMs to make the self service channel a reliable and profitable one.

ATMs represent the single largest investment in the electronic channel services for the banks. Running a large ATM network is a serious business, involving varied disciplines and complexities of hardware, software and processing requirements. Banks are working towards maximizing availability of ATM networks for their customers in this highly competitive environment and are seriously looking at Outsourcing the management of the ATM network to experts as a preferred alternative.

How important is it to have all relevant information readily available when making a decision? Suppose the software program used to help your financial institution determine whether customers should receive approval for a loan malfunctions -- leaving you with access to just 10 percent of their previous financial history.

Would you have full confidence in those loans? This scenario sounds extreme, yet it's not all that far removed from how many financial institutions handle the servicing of the automated teller machine (ATM) channel.

While ATMs have become increasingly sophisticated machines, many financial institutions continue to monitor uptime and service them as they always have, focusing primarily on detecting major hardware outages "after the fact" and dealing with them as quickly as possible. The truth is ATM downtimes can involve hardware, software, network connectivity, outages of cash or supplies, staff shortages or other personnel issues -- and often a combination of two or more of these factors. Such details do make a difference, as any ATM or help desk manager will attest when they have dispatched a technician to resolve an ATM issue.

The Fundamentals

Typically, outsourcing could involve various tasks. The scope depends on a bank’s long term strategic goals. Key tasks involving ATM Management Outsourcing include:

* ATM Monitoring – Involves sophisticated software and tools that enables the ATM Management to monitor the entire ATM network remotely on a 24X7 basis. In addition, the tools facilitate accurate diagnosis of faults and in many instances enable prediction of likely faults. Such diagnostic capabilities help significantly in maximizing ATM availability across a widespread geographical area through faster and accurate response to fix any problem or even pre-empt a possible problem.