Imagine interfacing with an ATM machine that, with a simple swipe of your driver’s license or touch of your fingers, enables you to video chat with a live teller on a 19-inch screen - an ATM with a face. Blake Ellis, writing for
CNN Money on April 22, 2013, indicates that this is the direction in which most of the nation’s big banks are going. Ellis states that these banks are investing in next-generation ATMs in order to keep customers coming back and cut costs. According to the article, the average cost to a bank to conduct an ATM transaction is $1.25, while a single transaction with a teller at a branch costs $4.50. It is therefore no surprise that at least one of the banks has indicated in the article that their new ATMs will be able to perform about 80% of the services that a traditional teller does.
The new features of the next-generation ATMs, some of which have already been launched in other countries, include:
- video chatting with a live teller;
- cashing checks, receiving exact change down to the penny;
- splitting deposits between accounts;
- making loan and credit card payments;
- logging in using fingerprints; and
- personalized screens based on customers' banking patterns.
