50th Anniversary of the ATM: Commentary from Fujitsu

Anthony Duffy, Director of Retail Banking, UK and Ireland at Fujitsu:

“The 50^th anniversary of the ATM is a significant millstone. It is fascinating to see how far the industry has come over these years. More than £120 billion is now withdrawn from machines each year, via more than two billion visits to the UK’s 70,000 ATMs.

“At Fujitsu, we have helped drive innovation in the sector for many of our clients –  for example, the company is deploying a new generation of machines with Spanish bank La Caixa  which offer contactless cash withdrawal from ATMs – actioned by passing a card, mobile phone or wearable over a reader, in much the same way as contactless payment transaction is already made in shops. In the Far East and South America, Fujitsu has worked with banks to deploy biometric technologies on ATMs, a solution which has allowed the Brazilian bank Bradesco to reduce ATM fraud to almost zero.

“It will be interesting to see how the ATM develops over the next 50 years. As technology continues to change banking, at Fujitsu, we expect to see self-service devices such as ATMs take on a new importance within branch operations. We expect to see the deployment of cost-efficient machines which blur the distinction between cash dispensing, internet banking and advanced marketing. With each machine increasingly being built from individual components, ATMs can be made to appear bespoke to the user by making their shape, casings and colour consistent with the needs and brand identity of the deploying bank. We also expect to see the market increasingly look for ways of lowering the costs associated with maintaining an ATM estate. This will be seen in terms of power and energy savings, easier installation and simpler maintenance. In particular, the costs associated with cash replenishment and machine maintenance are becoming a growing challenge for bank, leading to machines equipped with banknote recycling capabilities being deployed in markets where regulators permit such a capability.”