Community Banking and the ATM Evolution

As banks position themselves to meet the demands of the digital age, it’s critical for their ATM strategies to keep pace. ATMs remain a fixture in the banking marketplace at a time when customer preferences are evolving to emphasize ease of use and convenience.

The use of ATMs for self-service cash withdrawals, deposits and other transactions remains strong, complementing digital banking and serving as an enablement mechanism for digital payments. Even customers who use digital payment technologies still turn to ATMs for their day-to-day banking needs, according to a benchmarking report by Mercator Advisory Group. Despite predictions about the demise of cash, the dollar value of cash in circulation leaped by 16% in 2020, after growing 5% during the prior year, according to Federal Reserve data.

With competition intensifying, banks face unrelenting pressure to operate as efficiently as possible, and that means managing and reducing costs—a significant portion of which is in their branch networks. “Making cash deposits is one of the primary reasons customers visit a branch,” says Greg Donahue, VP, Allpoint Solutions. “Extending the branch network by shifting more deposit transactions to ATMs can free up bank resources that are currently invested in brick and mortar while providing greater convenience to customers.”

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