Diebold Nixdorf bets on branch revamps to boost ATMs

• Key insights: Diebold Nixdorf has updated its ATM technology following its 2023 bankruptcy.
• What's at stake: As cash usage wanes, ATM makers need to serve other needs. 
• Forward look: The company is hoping to take advantage of a recent series of bank investments in branches.  

Coming off of its fourth consecutive quarter of positive cash flow, Diebold Nixdorf contends there is a robust market for ATMs, particularly as banks reimagine their branches. 

 "Banks are realizing branches are a key part of acquisition and retention, so we have found a way to participate," Joe Myers, executive vice president of global banking at Diebold Nixdorf, told American Banker. Diebold Nixdorf recently added new branch automation tools that combine self-service and digital banking in an effort to enhance the ATM's role in branches.

The company also reported it has shipped more than 200,000 cloud- and internet-enabled DM Series ATMs since 2023, double the rate of the prior three years. This spark comes as the ATM market remains resilient even as cash usage declines. The global ATM market is about $26 billion in yearly transaction volume; and is on pace to reach $31.6 billion by 2030, according to Grandview Research. At the same time, the global percentage of cashless payments increased from 73% in 2028 to 86% in 2025, according to Capital One, adding cashless payments should reach 90% by 2030. 

"ATMs are evolving. They are less a way to access cash," Jeff Casey, a senior director and analyst at Gartner, told American Banker. "It's still a very high priority channel for consumers. It's going to be more dynamic than banks are thinking."

Branching out

As banks update their branch strategies in an increasingly digital industry, there's an opportunity for ATMs, which have also become more functional, according to Myers.  ATMs can now be used to access financial information, pay bills and perform other functions similar to apps or websites.

The ATM is not replacing digital channels, but can be part of user experience that involves more than one channel, including a branch, Myers said.There are plenty of examples of banks pouring funds into ATMs in just the past three months. For example, PNC is investing $2 billion in its branch network as it focuses on higher growth areas while reducing its footprint in more stagnant markets. 

Truist announced it will open 100 new branches and upgrade 300 other branches, including more in-branch services such as financial advice, while modernizing its ATMs in an effort to replace traditional branch tasks such as cash management or balance queries. 

BMO has also embarked on a branch automation project as part of its technology strategy.

"The experience is a bigger part of what banks are angling to do in branches," Myers said. "How can they attract more people into the branch? Modernizing ATMs allows branch staff to focus on growing revenue." 

Smaller banks are also expanding branches. Atlantic Union, which operates in the Carolina, is adding to its branch network. 

These investments counter the narrative that branches are in decline. While there are fewer bank branches than in the past, banks are often replacing them with smaller venues with more self-service machines or changing branch layouts to stress self-service.  

Among channels consumers use to complete an action at a bank, ATMs trail other channels but are still widely used. Phone interactions with a person are most often used to complete an action, with 41% of actions completed, according to a recent Gartner survey. Human agents at a bank complete 32% of transactions with ATMs completing 16%. Mobile apps complete 26% of actions and websites complete 31%.

"Branches probably aren't going away and ATMs are part of that strategy," Casey said. 

Writing for American Banker, Dave Martin, founder and consultant of BankMechanics, said: 

"Technology has changed how people bank, but it hasn't changed why they bank. Life still calls for personal conversations about money, financial decisions and moments when trust matters more than speed, convenience or even price."

Cash machine

Like other terminal makers, Diebold Nixdorf has faced pressure in recent years due to the growth in mobile and web banking.To bolster its digital strategy, Diebold Nixdorf launched Vynamic, a cloud-based retail payments and management service that enables merchants to quickly update their point-of-sale systems. More recently, Diebold Nixdorf increased its use of AI to locate and repair newer-model ATMs. 

To simplify sales, Diebold Nixdorf has narrowed the family of hardware products that it sells. "The DN series is all we take to market," Myers said of the company's most modern ATM family. It has also combined three of its software platforms. "This gives us one software layer to get economies of scale," he said. 

These moves have helped the company recover from its 2023 bankruptcy. Diebold's stock price has risen more than 40% over the past year. In its most recent earnings report issued earlier in November, Diebold Nixdorf reported earnings per share of $1.39, well above Zacks Investment Research estimates of $0.66, and up from $0.53 the year before.

It also reported revenue of $945.2 million for the quarter ended September 2025, up from $927.1 million the prior year. 

"The bankruptcy is in our past. The company is now well-capitalized," Myers said. 

Diebold Nixdorf competes with other ATM and self-service kiosk manufacturers, and payment fintechs such as Stripe and Block. 

Among Diebold Nixdorf's rivals, NCR Atleos reported ATM hardware revenue grew 24% in the third quarter over the prior year; its ATM as a service business grew 40% and it expanded to Latin America and the Middle East in the most recent quarter.

"Whether financial institutions and retailers choose to join our shared financial utility network or to outsource their self-service banking services, Atleos offers the most efficient, most comprehensive, and most reliable solution for customers," NCR Atleos CEO Tim Oliver said in an email from the company's public relations office.