BFC Bulletins Monthly News Digest
Kirill Ovsyannikov, deputy general director for strategic directions at the Lithuanian company BS/2, recently spoke about how smart ATMs represent a new opportunity for financial institutions.
In his talk at the 2nd international PLUS forum (entitled FinTech without Borders: Digital Asia), Mr. Ovsyannikov noted that the move toward digital service channels is nothing new as consumers continue to seek convenient solutions and financial institutions look to reduce acquisition and maintenance costs. At the same time, many such digital solutions still face a number of issues, including those related to the design of appropriate financial products and regulatory procedures capable of supporting large-scale valuation and availability.
As consumers continue to demand convenience however, smart ATMs represent an intriguing solution as they go beyond cash-dispensing machines. In particular, smart ATMs offer a wide range of 24/7 functionality, including allowing consumers to place orders for services, providing an easy access point for consumers to update information, allowing consumers to easily work with vouchers (both electronic and printed) and serving as important informational kiosk. Perhaps more importantly for financial institutions, smart ATMs also provide a low-cost advertising point and greatly reduce time- and cost-to-market for new products and services.
In short, smart ATMs have the potential to become the mini-branches of tomorrow.
