NCR Trials Video ATMs in Australia
- NCR announces its APTRA video ATMs (VTMs) will be tested by an Australian bank starting September 2011. This device will enable the users to contact a bank teller 24/7 through a video link. Once his ID scanned, he can apply for a loan, open a bank account, manage his accounts or deposit cheques, etc.
- If the customer does not carry his bank card along with him, this same authentication process might also allow him to perform cash withdrawals.
- According to NCR, as these devices are less expensive to set up than branches, they could be installed in Australian regions showing low equipment rates.
- These devices are adding a human touch to the customer/ATM interaction and could appropriately be installed in the remotest Australian areas.
- NCR is still focussing on initiatives designed to improve access to banking services (ATMs designed for semi-literate customers, to be implanted in rural areas in China and India –See July 2011 Observatory–; new ATMs enabling mobile toping-up and the purchase of SIM cards in Africa and in the Middle East –See below, etc.). These efforts are now highlighted by the adjunction of video functions and improved functionalities (loan applications, etc.).
- The added video function appears to be growing popular and is not solely limited to simple assistance interactions. For instance, last February, in Japan, Citibank and the Bank of Moscow have started testing these features on its ATMs.