Security paramount for ATM industry

The ATM industry is celebrating historic milestones in 2019, as U.S. ATMs approach their 50th birthday, and the ATM Industry Association is holding its 20th annual conference Feb. 19 to 20 at Disney World’s Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando, Fla. Themed ATMs and Apps: The New World of Customer Experience, the event has attracted legacy players and newcomers across expanding self-service channels.

ATMIA conference organizers said security features prominently in the agenda; they are also publicizing industry initiatives, which include the following:

• ATMIA acquires ASA: ATMIA disclosed Feb. 7, 2019, that it formed a permanent partnership with the ATM Security Association nearly a year after the agencies signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in March 2018. The London-based ASA will operate under ATMIA’s governance while retaining its name and branding, the partners stated.

• ATMIA, NAC, sign MOU: ATMIA revealed Feb. 18, 2019, that it has signed an MOU with the National ATM Council to jointly address ongoing bank account closures and new account denials in the retail ATM sector. The U.S. government’s Operation Choke Point program may be officially over, but its effects are still being felt by numerous independent ATM owners and deployers, NAC representatives stated.

Heritage of service

Founded in 1997, ATMIA is a global nonprofit trade association with chapters around the world and more than 10,500 members in 65 countries. ATMIA members promote ATM convenience, growth and usage while endeavoring to protect industry assets and public trust. In addition to prioritizing security, ATMIA’s working committees educate the public and address government relations, regulatory oversight and a range of issues involving ATM deployers.

Mike Lee, CEO of ATMIA, underscored the need for a unified response against global criminal groups and fraudsters. “One cannot just focus on one region anymore,” he said. “Those days are over. The fight is global and that is why we will build a global security platform in the coming months and years.”

ASA President Uwe Krause agreed, adding, “Given the great strides our industry has made with advancements in various technologies that consumers value at the ATM, it’s vital that we continue our industry collaborative efforts to effectively combat the impact that technically sophisticated global crime has on the ATM channel.”

Broadened focus, united front

Bruce Wayne Renard, executive director of the National ATM Council, noted that America has the highest per capita ATM deployment of any country in the world, providing widespread, convenient access to cash that complements the free world's leading market economy. Renard acknowledged that, despite this, bank account closures and new account denials continue to roil the independent ATM sector. He expressed confidence in NAC and ATMIA’s joint action plan to promote ATM marketplace opportunities.

Renard mentioned that ATMIA and NAC will further assess industry issues with concurrent surveys of ATM industry stakeholders. “Working together I am hopeful we can reverse the current misperceptions that ATM companies are 'high risk' accounts, and instead restore an understanding that ATM providers are in fact bank-sponsored and heavily vetted businesses, whose vault cash is inherently trackable as part of the simple, cyclical, closed-loop, and highly transparent 'financial settlements' process to which it is subject,” he said.

David Tente, executive director for ATMIA USA and Americas, pledged additional resources and support to address open issues and educate the public. “There is a significant lack of understanding about how the independent ATM cash cycle works,” he said. “That is not unexpected amongst the general public or even other businesses in the financial services industry. But we find it to be true on the part of financial institutions as well - which often results in independent operators being misclassified as Money Services Businesses (MSB). We hope that through a united front, ATMIA and NAC can affect real change in how banks engage with our members.”

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