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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 weeksvand will continue through the holidays, Todd Nuttall, Better ATM CEO, told 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 Mira Loma, Calif.-based Automated Cash Management Systems will deploy the ATMs in a small number of locations throughout the country, Nuttall says.
To buy the card, which carries $25 in value, consumers swipe either MasterCard- or Visabranded debit cards in the specially equipped ATMs and type in a four-digit PIN.
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 Restaurant.com card is worth $25, but it comes free with Amazon.com card.
The buyer types the card number into Restaurant.com's Web site to locate restaurants in his zip code that accept the card. 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.
