Aiming to speed up ATM lines, especially for small-business customers, BMO Harris Bank N.A. plans to replace most of the bank’s current Diebold ATMs with NCR Corp. units that accept checks and cash simultaneously through a single slot, the companies said Sept. 14.
The Duluth, Ga.-based ATM manufacturer in 2008 introduced its SelfServ line of ATMs and the Scalable Deposit Module technology that features single-slot deposits in October of 2010 (
Most of the banking industry’s ATMs still have separate slots for checks and cash, but for certain banks the capability of depositing numerous checks and several dollars in cash in less than a minute via single-slot technology is becoming a key benefit because it reduces lines at ATM machines, NCR spokesman Jeff Dudash tells PaymentsSource.
Small-business owners who typically bring checks and cash to the bank for deposit at the end of the workday are likely to benefit the most from the new single-slot ATM technology, Dudash suggests.
“Most small-business owners can’t leave work to go make deposits while the bank is open, so they have to rely on the ATM, but now they can do it quickly and make the complete deposit through one slot,” Dudash says.
One industry analyst suggests BMO Harris Bank’s ATM fleet-replacement is timely, given the emergence of various new ATM technologies.
NCR’s newest Windows-ready ATMs can be adapted to new features, such as accepting EMV cards and providing audio services, positioning banks for future demands, David Albertazzi, a senior analyst and expert with Boston-based Aite Consulting Group, tells PaymentsSource.
“If there’s a time for a financial institution to do this [change its ATM fleet] this is the time,” Albertazzi says.
Andrew Irvine, senior vice president at BMO Harris parent BMO Financial Group, said in a press release that NCR’s technological advances and service support were keys in the decision to purchase NCR ATM units. Chicago-based BMO Harris has 700 branches and about 1,350 ATMs in nine U.S. states.
NCR could not supply a specific number of ATM units that would be replaced, but Dudash says the conversion will include a significant portion of BMO Harris Bank’s 1,000 ATMs.
BMO Harris plans to begin replacing with NCR’s SelfServ34 ATM in the next two months and the process will continue next year, the company states.
Albertazzi notes the existence of two philosophies regarding single- or double-deposit slots, because some companies feel it is better to have two slots with specific functions.
“NCR has a unique approach on this and a lot of intelligence going into its cash-deposit features, and they are saying the ATM is less prone to breaking down and having errors with the single slot,” Albertazzi says.
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