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A reseller of ATMs to community banks and credit unions says it is seeing signs the economy is improving. That would be good news for large ATM manufacturers, which have had difficulty lately selling machines to smaller financial institutions.
"Sales have been slower than in the past, but there are signs that the economy is starting to move in the right direction," Gene Polito, president and chief operating officer of Financial Technology Solutions International Inc., tells ATM&Debit News. "We're now able to get into the door."
Financial Technology is getting on more lists for requests for proposal, which is one sign that things slowly are improving, Polito says. "When a company wants to buy new products, they issue a RFP [requests for proposal]," he explains.
Based in Monrovia, Calif., Financial Technology employs more than 100 workers and is licensed to sell new ATMs for NCR Corp. and Triton Systems of Delaware Inc. The company also sells reconditioned Diebold ATMs, Polito says.
Though NCR and Diebold use in-house sales staffs to call on major accounts, including Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co., the manufacturers rely on associate sales and service partners such as Financial Technology to approach small banks and credit unions.
That does not mean that the CEOs of NCR and Diebold only give fleeting thoughts to small financial institutions. During a recent conference call with analysts, Thomas W. Swidarski, Diebold president and CEO, acknowledged he expects ATM orders from small banks to drop by 30% to 35% this year.
Despite the drop in orders, Swidarski was optimistic because Diebold is participating in numerous pilots, although he said at the time the pilots have not resulted in any actual sales. The pilots involve demonstrating ATMs at small banks.
Bill Nuti, NCR chairman and CEO, did not mention small banks during the manufacturer's second-quarter conference call, but he said he hopes the improving economy will spur midsize banks that have put off purchasing intelligent-deposit ATMs to once again reconsider buying them.
"Tight budgets have kept most banks from purchasing envelope-free ATMs because the banks don't have a lot of money to spend," Kate Monahan, an analyst with Aite Group LLC in Boston, said earlier this year (ADN, 6/25).
Polito discussed the state of the ATM sales shortly after Financial Technology Solutions named him president and chief operating officer.
Polito joined Financial Technology Solutions from Co-op Network, the Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.-based ATM network for credit unions, where he had been president and chief operating officer.
Susan Napier, Financial Technology Solutions chairman and CEO, founded the business in 1998 in Atlanta, but it began operations in Honolulu. ATM
