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If the merger of Wells Fargo and Wachovia goes through, San Francisco-based Wells would remain the third-largest ATM network with 12,227 ATMs, according to PaymentsSource.com, a CardLine sister Web site. Wells operates 6,950 ATMs, and Charlotte, N.C.-based Wachovia owns 5,277 machines, PaymentsSource says. The banks this morning announced their plans to merge. Just days ago, however, Wachovia was set for a takeover by Citigroup. If the deal between Citi and Wachovia were to proceed, Citi would have 8,577 ATMs, jumping ahead of Wells. Charlotte-based Bank of America Corp. owns the largest ATM network with 18,531 machines, and JPMorgan Chase & Co., which last week purchased Seattle-based Washington Mutual Inc., has the second-largest network with 14,272 machines. Another beneficiary of a deal between Wells and Wachovia would be Wincor Nixdorf AG, a Paderborn, Germany-based ATM maker, says Gil Luria, an analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities in Los Angeles. "As Wells Fargo has upgraded its ATM network, it has turned to Wincor Nixdorf," Luria says.
