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4 stages of launching an ATM business

11.03.2019

iad-atm-business

To help fledgling ATM businesses get off the ground, Cashflows has developed a four-stage process that, if followed correctly, will give you all the ingredients needed for success.

1. Understand your ATM proposition

There are a range of options here. Key considerations include whether to opt for merchant fill or cash-in-transit, and whether your machines be within retail outlets, through the wall, standalone kiosks or PODs. You’ll also need to decide whether they will be free to use or attract a fee.

2. Identify the commercial drivers for your ATM proposition

Services such as advertising, currency conversion, money transfers, cardless transactions, lottery ticket sales and charity donations all have the potential to provide lucrative revenue streams. Getting your business model correct is imperative to running a successful IAD business.

3. Understand national market nuances 

Beyond technical considerations, it’s really important to know the location in which you intend to operate and the various rules affecting cash machine businesses. Each market in Europe has different regulatory and security protocols. For instance, whilst Germany requires ATM operators to hold a banking licence, IADs in Spain need authorisation from local police forces to install machines.

4. Understand your locality

You’ll need to have an accurate picture of the footfall of potential ATM locations and what the cash drivers of that footfall are. Talk to the business owners. Find out what attracts people to cash. In most cases a cash machine can help to increase footfall in the business and surrounding area.

Alongside these four stages, you’ll need to think about how your payments will be processed. In order to connect a cash machine to the payment network and start handling transactions, entrant ATM businesses face the time-consuming process of joining a card scheme. There is an alternative, though. BIN Sponsorship, as offered by CashFlows, allows IADs to bypass card scheme membership and get to market much more quickly.

If you follow CashFlows’ four-stage process before you launch and then follow-up with good customer service, you’ll have all the right ingredients for a successful ATM business.

If you need further information about becoming an IAD, talk to Adeel Hussain - Senior Business Development Manager (ATM BIN Sponsorship) - on 07711 781 420 or adeel.hussain@cashflows.com