Against the tide of dropping ATM numbers globally as customer use cash less often, Diebold Nixdorf is adding capabilities to its ATM machines to encourage adoption. The goal is to provide customers with a comprehensive service offering including deposits, bill payments, the ability to interact with mobile devices and other tasks customers would go to a branch to undertake.
The Canton, Ohio-based manufacturer launched a new series of automated teller machines on Tuesday that it’s hoping can handle enough branch banking functions to allow institutions to shrink their footprint or even replace branches altogether. The company is expecting total revenues of $4.4 billion to $4.5 billion in 2019, down from $4.58 billion in 2018 and $4.61 billion in 2017.
“All of our banking customers are looking to transform the way they do business,” said Octavio Marquez, senior vice president and managing director of banking for the Americas at Diebold Nixdorf. “As part of that, they’re looking at their ATM networks and asking, ‘What is the importance of this asset moving forward in a more digital future?'”
According to Marquez, a big chunk of that digital transformation for banks entails creating a unified experience across multiple channels. “The ATM is now starting to be thought of as part of a bank’s digital strategy, and the ability to integrate the ATM into the other channels is crucial,” he said.
The interface of the new ATMs, called the DN Series, mimics a bank’s mobile experience, Marquez said, crediting the use of HTML5 programming language to provide a more familiar user experience. Features of the new self-service machines include leveraging of internet-of-things technology with big data and machine learning to drive improved availability and performance; the ability to interface with mobile devices for such functions as biometric authentication; and proprietary recycling technology for cash management.
While Diebold is banking on enhanced ATM use through new functions, mobile banking, especially in the U.S., is booming. The big four U.S. banks added more active mobile users than overall digital users on both a quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year basis, earnings reports for the first quarter of 2019 showed. Combined, these banks account for more than 136 million active digital users, of which nearly 96 million are active mobile users, in North America.
Beyond tidying up the digital user experience, Marquez said banks also are using the DN Series in ways even beyond what Diebold Nixdorf originally envisioned. The recycling technology, for instance, is helping to automate parts of taking deposits that still are expensive for banks, like serving small and medium-sized merchants and allowing banks to collect nightly deposits and use that same cash to dispense the next day.
Italian bank BNL Gruppo BNP Paribas is among the 18 financial institutions in 13 countries piloting the new ATMs. “Rising competition and consumers’ evolution are just a few of the challenges we’re focused on and that we’re managing on a daily basis,” Maurizio Lupo, BNL’s head of innovation, change management and network transformation, said in a statement.
Cash still accounts for 30% of all transactions and more than half of all purchases under $10, according to a 2018 report by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. While online shopping continues to grow, 77% of payments were made in person, and cash accounted for 39% of that in-person volume.
“In this evolving landscape, even though a lot of people say cash eventually will go away, we still see there are trends globally in which ATMs will continue to play a role,” Marquez said. He did not provide a timeline for when the company might move beyond the pilot phase.
Diebold Nixdorf is in the midst of a transformation initiative, called DN Now, which includes a $400 million cost savings effort through the end of 2021. The company has said that would entail streamlining the operating model; reducing the product portfolio and manufacturing footprint; implementing a services modernization plan; and divesting non-core businesses.






