The Best ATM Outsourcing is the Work Your Accountholders Never See
Yonas Marcos, CEO
Star Financial Services
Not long ago, one of the ATMs we manage went down on a Sunday afternoon.
We received the alert, dispatched a technician and had the ATM back up and running before the credit union’s team returned to work.
By Monday morning, the branch manager knew there had been a problem.
The credit union’s members probably didn’t.
To me, that’s one of the best examples of what ATM outsourcing should accomplish. The real value isn’t always something you can see in a report. Sometimes, it’s the problem that gets handled before it ever becomes an issue accountholders notice.
For community banks and credit unions in Washington, DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia considering ATM outsourcing, that’s an important distinction.
What Should ATM Outsourcing Do for a Community Bank or Credit Union?
Most community banks and credit unions already know the traditional benefits of ATM outsourcing.
Monitoring.
Cash management.
Maintenance.
Processing.
Reporting.
Fewer demands on internal staff.
Those things matter. But when I talk with financial institutions about ATM outsourcing, I think there’s another question that’s just as important:
When something goes wrong, who owns the problem?
If an ATM goes offline on a busy Friday afternoon, does someone act on the alert that day? If a technician is needed Saturday morning, can one be dispatched? Does someone follow the service call through to resolution, or does your team eventually have to step in?
That’s the difference between outsourcing ATM tasks and having a partner who takes responsibility for your program.
Your ATM Users Don’t Care What Day It Is
The people using your ATMs expect them to work when they need them.
A community bank customer trying to withdraw cash on Sunday doesn’t care that the branch is closed. A credit union member doesn’t know what response time is buried in your vendor’s service agreement.
And neither one knows which company is responsible for servicing the ATM.
They simply see your financial institution’s name on the machine.
When an ATM isn’t available, it’s more than a service issue. It affects the experience that accountholder has with your community bank or credit union.
For community-based institutions throughout the DMV, ATM availability isn’t simply an operational concern. It’s part of the experience you provide for the people who trust you with their financial needs.
How Should You Evaluate an ATM Outsourcing Provider?
I encourage any financial institution considering an ATM outsourcing provider to do what I call “The Sunday Test.”
Call their support number on a Sunday.
See who answers.
Ask what happens if one of your ATMs goes down. Find out how quickly a technician can be dispatched. Ask whether weekend service is handled differently from service during normal business hours.
Most importantly, find out whether “we’ll get someone out Monday” is considered an acceptable response.
That’s useful information to have before you sign an ATM outsourcing agreement − not after one of your ATMs goes down.
Who Actually Owns the ATM Problem?
To me, this is where ATM management should earn its value.
Community banks and credit unions shouldn't sign an agreement only to find out later that their staff are still managing ATM problems. When something goes wrong, your team shouldn't have to figure out who to call, chase service tickets or make sure the issue gets resolved.
Your ATM outsourcing provider should own it.
That’s our approach: one team, one accountable relationship. When there’s an issue, the goal isn’t simply to report it. The goal is to get it resolved.
Your team has enough on its plate already. Managing your ATM provider shouldn’t be one more thing.
Why Choose a Local ATM Outsourcing Provider in the DMV?
We’re local to the Washington, DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia market, and I believe that matters.
The ATMs we manage aren’t simply numbers on a national service map. They’re machines at branches and locations we know, operated by financial institutions we’ve built relationships with and serving people in the communities where we live.
When an ATM needs attention, having a provider that knows your locations, your team and the local market can make a real difference in how quickly an issue gets resolved.
That’s the value of having a relationship with the people responsible for your ATM program.
For community banks and credit unions that have built their own businesses around relationships and personal service, I think they should expect the same thing from their ATM provider.
Outsourcing shouldn’t make you feel further removed from your ATM program. It should give you confidence that someone else is paying attention to it.
What Does Successful ATM Outsourcing Look Like?
Sometimes, it looks like nothing happened.
No prolonged outage. No Monday-morning scramble. No frustrated ATM users. No operations manager chasing down a service call.
An ATM went down on Sunday.
We noticed.
We took care of it.
And by Monday morning, it was business as usual.
To me, that’s one of the best ATM outsourcing stories we can tell − because the people using that ATM never had a reason to know there was a story at all.
Yonas Marcos is CEO of Star Financial Services, a Maryland-based ATM outsourcing provider serving community banks and credit unions throughout Washington, DC, Maryland and Northern Virginia.
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