Skip to main content

Planning, Budgeting, and The Rise of ATM-As-A-Service


Fall is upon us and we’re heading into planning season. There is a lot to consider this year. It seems like there’s more uncertainty for the near-term future than there normally is. We’re in a qualified recession (although we’re not stating it officially), we have mid-term elections coming in November, inflation is above 8% with little signs of a reprieve and although we’ve been adding jobs at a considerable pace, wait times and member service still seems to be feeling the effects of the pandemic shutdown and subsequent “Great Resign”.

This weakening of service & response is affecting every industry. Every one of my business trips has been met with longer lines, closed-early signs, or an interaction with someone completely overworked and exhausted from pulling the weight of two or more employees that have gone missing in action.

As we head into budget and planning season, we need to take the issue of weak service & staffing into account and consider how to put our credit union in the best situation possible to avoid poor service, slow response, and general lack of empathy. And not just from our own front-line and member-facing staff, but from our vendors and business partners as well.

Self-service access through mobile apps, online banking & ATMs are great ways to ensure your credit union can continue to provide strong service and access for your members. But, these access points are not immune to understaffing and the resulting poor service. Take your ATMs & ITMs (if you’ve taken the leap). Keeping an ATM up and running takes the work of four to five different vendors as well as your branch, operations, and accounting staff. You may not even be fully aware of all the hands involved in your ATM program. And this coordination of efforts to keep your fleet running smoothly is more expensive and time-consuming than you realize.

ATM-as-a-Service (or ITM-as-a-Service) is not a new concept, but it is catching on with more credit unions now than ever. ATMs have evolved from after-hours access to an extension of the branch, a means for teller interaction, and the beginnings of new market expansion. As the ATM's responsibility grows, so does the need for better program management. Outsourcing to an ATM-as-a-Service focused entity provides a layer of expertise that was not available to you before. It also alleviates your staff from having to coordinate internal and external vendor efforts when issues arise. And it provides economies of scale for service contracts, equipment, and software procurement.

Whether planning for different branch approaches, market expansion or focusing on providing the optimum member experience, make sure to give strong consideration to the evaluation of your ATM or ITM fleet this Fall. Would your credit union be better served by a business-as-usual approach or by an industry expert that can help you reduce costs, develop a strategic plan and implement a stronger program for your member access? Click the link in the email to request a consultation today.

Joe Woods, CUDE | SVP, Marketing & Partnerships

Dolphin Debit Access, LLC | 1340 Rayford Park Rd., Spring, TX 77386

(M) 614-378-0367

Comments

Post a Comment

Please no profanity or political comments.

Popular posts from this blog

NCOFCU Newsletter

The Bucket Coach is a financial advice book designed by Fire Services Credit Union, Tronto, Canada. and written exclusively for Fire Fighters It's a practical guide for household financial management, including investments, credit and mortgages, and retirement. Developed with contributions from Fire Fighters," NCOFCU Newsletter : " Kevin Connolly Chief Executive Officer    Fire Services Credit Union Phone: 416-440-1294 ext 301  Toll Free: 1-866-833-3285 E-mail:  kevin@firecreditunion.ca 1997 Avenue Rd Toronto, ON M5M 4A3 
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

Sunday Reading - What is the Dow Jones?

    What is the Dow Jones? Created in 1896, the Dow Jones Industrial Average is one of the world’s oldest and most widely recognized stock indexes—a measure tracking the stock performance of a selected group of companies ( see most recent data ). Originally designed to track America’s leading industrial firms, the Dow has evolved into a cultural and financial shorthand for the health of the US economy. As of 2025, it measures 30 major companies —like McDonald's, Boeing, and Nike—across sectors such as technology, healthcare, finance, and consumer goods.  Unlike most modern indexes, which are weighted by the total value of a company’s shares, the DJIA uses a price-weighted formula —meaning stocks with higher share prices exert more influence, regardless of company size. The DJIA has been updated 59 times since its creation to reflect changes in the US economy ( see ch...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

New from AutoLink

New from AutoLink
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

The Role and Hazards of an Interim Executive

  The Role and Hazards of an Interim Executive Leadership transitions are rarely smooth. A change at the top can trigger uncertainty, speculation, and anxiety. Staff worry about their jobs, members wonder about continuity, and boards feel the weight of stewarding the organization through uncertain change. The utilization of an interim executive director is meant to stabilize the organization and allow the board enough space and capacity to find the right successor leader. Here’s a catch: if an interim executive is also a candidate for the successor role, the very purpose of an interim engagement is compromised. With an Interim, there’s always a second wave of anxiety Every leadership transition comes with some anxiety. The staff sometimes don’t know what’s going on. The board is worried about continuity, and members may be worried about joining. One task of an interim is to absorb some of that anxiety and provide reassurance that things are moving forward. But there is al...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

Powell Rejects Any Plan for Fed to Intervene in Secondary Market to Bring Down Rates

  Frank Diekmann October 20, 2025 2:22 am No Comments PHILADELPHIA–Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said there are no plans for the central bank to directly intervene in secondary mortgage markets in an attempt to help bring down mortgage rates, an idea some have proposed as a means of addressing the affordability crisis In housing. Jerome Powell Speaking at the  National Association for Business Economics  conference in Philadelphia, Powell spoke to the Fed’s progress with “quantitative tightening,” that is, its work to reduce the more than $6 trillion of securities it holds on its  balance sheet . Read more about the Balance Sheet HERE Those holdings include approximately $2 trillion in mortgage-backed securities (MBS), which are bundles of home loans that are packaged together and sold to investors, usually by middlemen  Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac , noted Realtor.com. Rolling Off Balance Sheet As the report noted, the Fed dramatically increased M...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

Fed Chair Says Strength of Economy Allowing it to be Patient With Any Rate Cuts

WASHINGTON–Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the strength of the economy is giving the central bank flexibility to be patient when it comes to cutting rates. Jerome Powell This year has been filled with predictions over when the Fed will move to reduce rates, including by credit union economists. But inflation has been more stubborn than many had forecast, and most now say it will be June at the earliest before the Fed makes any move. Last week, a new report showed inflation in February was 2.5%, far below the 7% peak seen in 2022 and closer to the Fed’s 2% target. In an interview last week with the National Public Radio’s Marketplace program, P...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

How Stablecoins Could Prove to Be Anything But Stable for CUs That Don’t Get Moving

LOST PINES, Texas–With the GENIUS Act enacted and the countdown on for NCUA and regulators to get rules in place for stablecoins, credit unions were told it’s “go time” to begin preparing for a new technology that could “eat the lunch” of interchange. The cautionary words came from  Dr. Lamont Black , an associate professor at the Driehaus College of Business at DePaul University, where among other things he teaches a graduate course on cryptocurrency, and who is also a fellow in Filene’s Credit Union of the Future Center of Excellence, and who s well-known to many in credit unions for his work and insights.  After several years of speaking to credit unions on crypto, he told  Catalyst Corporate’s  Strategic Summit meeting he has pivoted now due to the rapid change taking place, and in addition to talking about AI (see separate reporting in the CU Daily), he has a warning for CUs when it comes to another emerging technology. Eating the Lunch of Payments “I believe st...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

Zelle Says It Will Allow Users to Make International Payments Using Stablecoins

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz .–   Zelle  has announced plans to allow users to start making international payments using stablecoins. The move by Early Warning Services, which operates the P2P payments network Zelle and which is owned by a consortium of large banks, comes in the wake of the passage of the GENIUS Act, which is designed to usher stablecoins into the regulated financial system. Stablecoins are a digital currency that is pegged to a fiat currency such as the U.S. dollar. As the CU Daily reported  here , credit unions were strongly urged during an event last week to not just start paying attention to stablecoins but to begin taking action as interchange income is threatened. Similarly, analysts said the move by Zelle to help users move money across borders is a defensive move in response to what is expected to be the growing use of stablecoins by consumers and businesses. Early Warning Services did not indicate how it would work or when it would launch, according to sever...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

Your Credit Union CAN Use Public Fund Deposits To Fund Assets

By Corporate One Federal Credit Union Once largely thought of as taboo, the use of external funding is now widely accepted throughout the credit union industry. In fact, the NCUA has required all credit unions to seek multiple liquidity sources and document those sources in their liquidity policy. As the acceptance of external funding has improved, credit unions are increasingly sourcing funds from many channels, including the Federal Home Loan Bank System, the corporate credit union network, and several non-member deposit channels, such as public fund deposits. Yes, public fund deposits are being increasingly sourced to fund credit union assets. Increasing Growth, Benefits, And Uses Total member and non-member government deposits totaled $5.4 billion at year-end 2017. This is an increase of 27% since 2015. While this amount pales in comparison to total deposits and other liabilities, how important are these deposits to the nearly 500 credit unions who report them?...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»

Sunday Reading - What is the Erie Canal?

  Gateway to the West     What is the Erie Canal? The Erie Canal is a 363-mile waterway in New York connecting the Great Lakes to the Atlantic seaboard, from the Hudson River at Albany to Lake Erie at Buffalo ( see map ). Initiated in 1817 for $7M (nearly $200M today), the canal was America’s first major infrastructure project and revolutionized trade and commerce in the United States. The project relied on self-taught amateurs —including teachers, judges, and surveyors. The workers, nearly 50,000, dug the entire canal with hand tools, picks, and gunpowder (dynamite had not yet been invented). The original Erie Canal had 83 locks, each designed to be...
Post a Comment
Read Complete Article HERE>»