Friday, February 1, 2019
NAC executive director Bruce Renard said the year-long celebration will combine festivities with education. "NAC has planned a special educational outreach during 2019, designed to highlight this 50-year milestone and the importance of ATMs to U.S. consumers, policymakers, merchants and other related industries," Renard said. "We see the 50th anniversary of America's first ATM as a time for reflection and celebration, but also as an important learning opportunity for our nation."
George Sarantopoulos, NAC board chair and CEO of Access One Solutions, pointed out that ATMs were first viewed as a novelty but rapidly scaled, achieving an installed base of 100,000 terminals by 1996. The independent, retail ATM sector has continued to grow exponentially, he added, with independent ATM operators accounting for nearly 60 percent of today's approximately 470,000 U.S. ATMs. "Americans love their cash and quickly embraced the idea of the ATM when it was first introduced," he said.
Renard additionally noted that numerous independent ATMs are located outside of traditional bank footprints, where they provide essential financial services to millions of unbanked and under-banked citizens. These retail ATMs facilitate government-issued Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) payment cards and prepaid debit transactions to residents in inner cities and rural communities, he noted.
"When I think back on providing ATM services to the hundreds of thousands of customers served by ATM's of the South over 20 years, what's most meaningful is how many of these areas of these areas had zero access to cash before ATMs came along," said Greg Chiasson, director at ATM's of the South Inc. "There were no bank branches or bank ATMs there. They were classic 'cash deserts' and it was a real problem for those living there. Now, independent ATMs across America provide ready access to cash and EBT public benefits, making a difference in people's lives every day."
James Phillips, executive vice president, sales and marketing at Triton Systems of Delaware LLC, mentioned that 2019 will also mark an important milestone at his company. "While the United States celebrates the fiftieth year of the first ATM installation at a Chemical Bank branch in Rockville Centre, New York, Triton will celebrate our own 40-year milestone, and our sister company, ATMGurus will celebrate 10 years in business," he said. "While many ATM importers have come and gone, for forty years Triton has faithfully served its IAD customers."
NAC representatives said the year-long celebration will culminate with NAC's annual conference and expo, which will be held Oct. 15 to 17, 2019, at the Las Vegas Planet Hollywood Hotel and Conference Center.
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