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Two ATM independent sales organizations have reached agreements with Better ATM Services Inc., a Mesa, Ariz.-based vendor, to sell Amazon.com prepaid gift cards. Better ATM licenses software that enables ATMs to dispense the prepaid gift cards. The ISOs, Automated Cash Management Systems Inc. and APTUS Financial, plan to dispense the Amazon.com gift card through 25 ATMs made by Diebold Inc., Triton Systems of Delaware Inc. and Wincor Nixdorf AG. The test is scheduled to begin in two weeks and continue through the holidays, Todd Nuttall, Better ATM CEO, told CardLine sister publication ATM&Debit News Sunday at the ATM Debit & Prepaid Forum in Chandler, Ariz. Better ATM also expects to sign an agreement with ATM manufacturer Nautilus Hyosung Inc., Nuttall says. Better ATM first must certify Nautilus Hyosung's ATMs before an ATM ISO can deploy the machines to dispense the cards. Portland, Ore.-based APTUS and Automated Cash Management Systems, which is based in Mira Loma, Calif., will deploy the ATMs in a small number of locations throughout the country, Nuttall says. To buy the card, which carries a value of $25, consumers swipe either MasterCard- or Visa-branded debit cards in the specially equipped ATMs and type in a four-digit PIN number. The purchaser then goes online and types the card's number into his Amazon.com account. If he does not have an Amazon.com account, he can create one. The Amazon.Com gift card is associated with the Restaurant.com gift card. Restaurant.com, a Schaumburg, Ill.-based Web site, helps diners search for restaurants. The purchaser types the card number into Restaurant.com's Web site. Restaurant.com lists eating establishments in the cardholder's zip code that accept the coupon, says Peter Friend, Better ATM director of gift cards and promotions. Restaurant.com then issues an online coupon for the selected restaurant that the cardholder can print out on his home printer, Friend says.
