Banks and credit unions participating in the Select-A-Branch ATM network can prospect for new customers using ATM-dispensed receipt coupons printed with offers to pique interest in the financial institutions. But a spokesperson for Philadelphia Federal Credit Union, the marketing service’s first adopter, says the response rate during a recent trial was not good, and the credit union and Select-A-Branch are discussing making undisclosed adjustments.
Select-A-Branch’s ATM software recognizes member institutions’ debit and credit card numbers. When a member’s customer inserts his card into a Select-A-Branch ATM, the issuer’s homepage appears on the ATM screen, making it appear as though he is withdrawing funds from his financial institution’s own ATM.
Select-A-Branch’s ADdirect marketing service, announced in mid February, is a simple prospect-marketing tool for Select-A-Branch financial-institution members.
ADdirect recognizes cardholders’ bank-identification numbers. When the cardholder withdraws cash from a Select-A-Branch ATM, but is not a Select-A-Branch bank member, the ATM prints a receipt with a financial incentive or another type of offer as inducement to join the member bank, says Dan Stechow, chief operating officer of King of Prussia, Pa.-based Select-A-Branch. Select-A-Branch owns at least 240 ATMs, but an exact number is not available.
Philadelphia Federal Credit Union, a 100,000-member financial institution, purchased ADdirect services, renting in January and February Select-A-Branch ATMs deployed on Pennsylvania Turnpike plazas, the Philadelphia Reading Terminal Market and the Philadelphia Convention Center, Alexa Novachek, the credit union’s spokesperson, tells PaymentsSource.
The credit union is not currently renting Select-A-Branch ATMs, and the credit union has not yet decided whether to rent Select-A-Branch ATMs in the future, Novachek says.
When a non-Philadelphia Federal Credit Union member withdrew funds from one of the ATMs, the machine marketed the credit union’s tuition rewards program to the cardholder as enticement to join the credit union. “The cardholder received college tuition rewards based on deposits,” Novachek says. The machine printed the offer on the ATM receipt, and interested cardholders would call credit-union personnel to discuss the offer.
For Philadelphia Federal Credit Union, ADdirect delivered 60,000 account-opening coupons, Select-A-Branch executives said in a statement.
“The response rate hasn’t been that good,” says Novachek, declining to detail January’s call volume and saying she not yet seen February’s response rate. The credit union first tested ADdirect in December.
“We want to continue working with [Select-A-Branch], but we have not decided what to do yet,” she adds. “Some banks offer $125 to prospective customers, but we’re a small credit union.”
The response rates depend on the offers, Select-A-Branch’s Stechow says. “If it’s a $100 offer, everyone will take it,” he says. “We guarantee the ATMs will dispense a specific number of coupons.”
Select-A-Branch offers its ADdirect marketing service on ATMs deployed on Connecticut Thurway Service Plazas and in New York City airports and McDonald’s restaurants, Select-A-Branch executives said in a statement.
