How to Cut ATM costs/Fees?
Setting up and maintaining ATMs on its own puts a lot of strain on a bank and its resources. Effective management of these ATMs requires the staff’s time and efforts that they could have spent otherwise. More and more customers are turning to ATMs for cash transactions, both for depositing and withdrawing their money. The simplicity of an Automated Teller Machine is incomparable with the other complex services a customer might receive from their bank. So, banks must provide customers with top-notch ATM services.
Managing ATM costs is a relatively expensive process, and they require regular upkeep and maintenance. Reducing ATM costs has, therefore become one of the top priorities among banks. There are various ways in which this is possible,
Partnering with ATM Service Providers and CIT Services
The best available alternative to installing the bank’s own ATMs is to make use of an ATM vendor. These vendors will be charged with atm cash management software, taking away a huge responsibility from the banks. They place ATMs customized according to the bank’s specifications in the right locations. These managing services will make sure that the ATMs are following regulations and rules applicable to the ATM industry. They will also carry out proper software upgrades whenever necessary.
Since ATM vendors will have their staff for the upkeep of the machines, the bank’s staff are no longer obliged to ensure the ATMs’ smooth working. They only have to get involved when an unsolvable issue arises.
To improve the efficiency of cash flow, banks can collaborate with Cash-In-Transit services. Banks can provide the CIT staff with the required access and reduce the hurdles that prevent a smooth flow of cash from cash collection points to ATMs. Fine-tuning this process is possible by providing the team with access codes that are valid only for a limited period. They can also be given electronic keys to access the ATM costs and minimize crimes and chances of error.
Use Machine Learning to Determine the refill Amount:
Banks often overfill theirATM costs by a large margin, creating funds that are left unused in an ATM. This money, which could have been sent through the right channels, has now become wasteful. If they aren’t adequately filled, the bank loses money on frequent and unnecessary trips to supply the required cash.
A method that is used to optimize the cash present in an ATM is the use of Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) based algorithms. These study historical data and measure data from a particular period to create predictions. The cash predictions will help bank owners deposit the right amount of money every time. The ANN also helps in figuring out other vital details such as refill dates, and the number of notes from each denomination that need to be deposited. A Data Scientist can use these ANNs in multiple ATMs to create forecasts tailor-made for each ATM.
Using an ANN for cash predictions means that the bank will no longer be filling the ATMs with unnecessary cash. They would also be able to minimize the number of refill trips taken to the ATM. Both of these techniques will reduce the bank’s ATM costs and increase their profits by utilizing more money for banking.
In Conclusion:
The best ways to cut down the ATM costs are linked directly to outsourcing the managing of ATMs and figuring out the right cash levels required for each ATM. Using an external service provider for cash transport and ATM costs maintenance will help improve the efficiency of the process. It will also save time and resources for the banks. The usage of ANN algorithms will reduce the unnecessary expenditures of a bank by a good percentage.
