THE CASH MACHINE network operated by First State Bank of Key West is about as unusual as the endangered marine mammal its name denotes.
First State, the only locally owned bank on the small Florida resort island, is trying to lure new business with automated teller machines that not only talk to customers but dispense postage stamps as well.
Each Cash Cow ATM machine sports a likeness of the manatee, a corpulent critter that inhabits the waters around the Florida Keys.
The $170 million-asset bank has put the units in such locations as the island's only full-service supermarket.
Despite being the sole community bank in Key West, First State is not without competitors.
"We compete against NationsBank and First Union. In order to do it effectively, we have to be unique and provide the best service," said Antoinette de Jongh Love, marketing coordinator for the bank.
"By using technology on a wide scale, we make services available to our customers -- which is a large part of the success in holding a large part of the market."
The technology allows First State to sell U.S. postage stamps through its ATMs. The machines also talk to customers.
"The machines are equipped with computer chips which allow them to 'speak' to the customers digitally while walking them through the transactions," said Ms. de Jongh Love.
"It talks them through the procedure just like a screen would.
"It actually says 'enter your [personal identification number],' asks the type of transaction you want to perform, and things like that," she explained.
The talking ATMs were installed just over three years ago.
The machines are manufactured by AT&T Global Information Solutions of Dayton, Ohio, formerly NCR Corp. The software is from Mellon Bank Corp., Pittsburgh.
One of the reasons the bank chose voice-prompt ATMs was the fact that a large portion of its customers are senior citizens.
"We felt that it would be a way for them to become familiar with using the machines by talking them through the process," said Karen M. Sharp, First State Bank's chief financial officer.
How do customers respond to an automated teller that talks?
"We got a lot of interesting reactions to the machines, especially from the tourists who are not used to using the machines," said Ms. Sharp.
"There are cases of people turning to their friends and saying 'this thing is talking to me.' [But] most of our customer base has become familiar with the machines."
Anne Morgan Moore, president of Synergistics Research Corp. in Atlanta, said there is a trend in the industry toward expanding the functionality of ATMs to generate fee income and increase the number of transactions.
"Consumers are interested in machines that can add time to lives and reduce the hassles of going into a branch," said Ms. Moore.
First State has five Cash Cows in high-traffic areas on the island. Bank officials estimated that 25,000 people pass through its supermarket branch each month.
While talking ATMs are not unheard of, experts said they are very rare for a bank of First State's size.
Two years ago, First State added the stamp-dispensing capability. It promoted the service through statement stuffers.
"We focused the marketing of the stamp project on [the supermarket] branch because of the high visibility," said Ms. de Jongh Love.
"To kick the service off, we got the mayor and some other dignitaries to cut a ribbon and access the first stamps from the machines."
Bank officials say that most established customers with ATM cards got them because of the stamp service.
"Our customer service reps are trained to cross-sell the ATM cards at the time that the account is opened," said Ms. de Jongh Love.
"Many of our customers are older and are not as apt to use an ATM as they are to come into a branch. But we think that the majority of the cards issued to existing accounts have been because of the stamps."
To provide the services, First State relies on the back office. The bank handles its data processing in-house on an International Business Machines Corp. AS/400 midrange computer that operates with Fiserv Inc.'s Comprehensive Banking System.
Previously, the bank processed information in-house with hardware from AT&T Global Information Solutions and software from Dayton-based Advanced Computer Systems Inc.
The systems conversion took place last December. Bank officials said that it went smoothly and was transparent to customers.
"By processing the data in-house we can provide the information to our customers more quickly than if we were using an outsourcer," said Anita L. Welch, the bank's information systems officer. "We are able to provide access to the customers' funds a lot more quickly because we have the system on board."
"Now when we look at branch automation or other services, we have a wider array of products we can choose from," said Ms. Sharp.
The bank is currently looking to install a desktop customer information file from Marketing Profiles Inc. of Maitland, Fla.
"We hope to install a comprehensive customer information file by yearend to allow us to take the information and market products to customers more efficiently," said Ms. Welch. "We will be able to take information and specific target groups of customers for marketing."
The key to the bank's success is its ability to offer personal service combined with the latest technology.
"We pride ourselves on offering a superior level of service combined with being financially strong," said Ms. de Jongh Love. "For the last 20 quarters we have received excellent ratings from all the major analyst organizations.
"We are able to offer everything, plus some, that a large bank can offer -- at a much more personal level. Our customers are people, not numbers in a system," she continued.
"We are open six days a week to 8 p.m. No other bank comes close to that on the island," Ms. de Jongh Love added.
First State will also be installing a voice-response telephone system that will allow customers to access account information 24 hours a day.
"Technology has played a major role in providing the service we want, and our investment has laid the foundation for the future," said Ms. Sharp.
