The Future of Self-Service Kiosks -- Pt 4

Our last blog continued the discussion around self-service kiosks’ impact on the medical industry. This week, we’ll focus on how digital kiosks are creating efficiencies for both banks and their customers via modern ATMs that feature Automated Teller Assist (ATA) technology.

Ever run out to an ATM to get money for the babysitter, or the dog walker or the teenager down the street who mows your lawn, only to be incredibly irritated when you remember that it only dispenses $20 bills? And you don’t have change? Because no one uses physical money anymore? This is just one of many problems ATA-enabled ATMs solve. Starting with Bank of America in 2013, this new generation of automated teller machines includes a wide variety of impressive new features, including deposit splits between multiple accounts, the ability to make loan payments and deposit checks with cash back (and receive exact change!) and yes -- withdrawals will finally be made available in a variety of different denominations, including $1 and $5 bills. According to BOA executive Bassam Awadalla, "Half the transactions that occur at the bank are processed after hours...this is a way we're leveraging new technology to provide our clients with additional options and convenience."

While some of the technology found in ATAs (also called ITMs -- Interactive Teller Machines) has been around for a couple of years now, the latest upgrades are just starting to roll out in 2015. The biggest change is the inclusion of video chat that allows customers to speak to a live banking teller, who is located at a central customer service center. This makes it possible for customers to initiate and complete more complicated transactions than they otherwise would. While live teller assist is not currently available 24/7 (Bank of America’s remote tellers, for instance, are available 7 am to 10 pm weekdays and 8 am to 5 pm weekends), it’s not difficult to imagine a time in the near future when this type of service would be available around the clock.

While BOA is an example of a large financial institution integrating new technologies into self-service kiosks, these types of deployments are also rolling out in community banks, including credit unions. While smaller banks and CUs may not see the same economy of scale as a national bank from the standpoint of equipment upgrades, because they are localized with fewer branches to update, they are generally more nimble and will need to spend considerably less money overall in order to stay competitive with big banks.

Want to know what else the future of self-service kiosks holds? Keep following RedyRef to find out. Already know that you want to be a part of the automation movement? Our experts are available to assist organizations of all sizes; just give us a call at (800) 628-3603 ext 525 or submit a request for proposal online and our team will be with you every step of the way.