ATM BUSINESS: BY BEN ALLEN
What’s up with the mass turnover of credit union ATMs to third-party
managers? Regulation and compliance, along with maintenance, are the
main drivers behind the exodus. Should your CU outsource its automated
teller machines? See why some credit unions that have done so think you
should.
In the past decade, hundreds of credit unions have decided to get out of the ATM business. They turned over operation of their ATMs – whether they have two or three or dozens of them – to third-party management.
The ATMs still have the credit unions’ names on them, and members don’t really notice any particular difference. But behind the scenes, ownership and the operating arrangement have changed. Why is it that so many credit unions have made this change, with many more thinking about it right now?
What is driving their decisions are the burdens of ongoing ATM maintenance and regulatory and compliance concerns, and the costs associated with each of those aspects.
Maintaining, upgrading and stocking ATMs can be a big job, especially if machines are older and require more maintenance. It’s bad enough for credit unions to have ATM mechanical issues during business hours, but when the machines break down in the evenings or on weekends, it becomes particularly burdensome to the staff.
Compliance is an ongoing concern to ensure the machines are in line with all current government and industry requirements. The recent need to make all machines compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act was a challenge for many credit unions, and often it was the trigger for their decision to outsource the management of their ATMs.
