As China gears up for next year’s Olympic Games in Beijing, ATMIA is hosting its third “ATMs in Asia” conference with the main theme of preparing China’s ATMs for the millions of additional ATM transactions expected in the City during the Olympics. Half a million foreign and domestic visitors are expected each day in the city for the duration of 17 days beginning August 8, 2008. As Asia’s major economic power, China has climbed from fifth to fourth place in the World Tourism Organisation’s rankings since 2002, with tourism accounting for over 5% of its GDP in 2005 or 5.5% of the world’s total travel and tourism industry.

But are Beijing’s ATMs ready for the sudden spikes in demand for international transactions? Will international visitors find the ATMs in the capital user-friendly, secure and efficient?

“We have international best practices for ATM security, business efficiency and ATM risk management which could be of use to Chinese bank and ISO deployers,” commented Mike Lee, CEO of ATMIA. “The focus of this conference, taking place in the host city for the Olympics, is to share this material and to offer our international contacts and knowledge base to assist in the banking industry’s vital preparations. We are sure Beijing’s ATMs will be ready for the high volume of visitors.”

There is no doubt that China is a big, growing market for ATM debit cards. With a predominant cash culture, Chinese consumers in general prefer debit cards since they can make cash withdrawals easily at the many ATMs around the country. Millions of new MasterCard and Visa cards have been issued in China in recent years as the market moves to smart cards and EMV compliance.

At “ATMs in Asia 3”, the Bank of China will address possible fraud risks for ATMs at the Olympics and the Agricultural Bank of China will speak on “Sharpening up the Edges for the Olympics, and for the Future”, looking at an overview of China’s fast growing ATM Market. Mark Yip, General Manager of GRG Banking, a major Chinese manufacturer and global sponsor of ATMIA, will give a special address on Industry Standard Compliance in China, evaluating how China’s banks bridge the local customs and industry standards gap.

“ATMs in Asia 3” kicks off with an ATM Risk Management training workshop developed by ATMIA and based on 8 years’ experience running an international ATM insurance programme through Lloyd’s of London, as well as on the popular work carried out by the Global ATM Security Alliance (GASA) (www.globalasa.com) on the ATM security lifecycle. There is a strong emphasis on corporate governance and global compliance issues at the workshop.

ATMIA President, Tom Harper, will present an inspiring 10 year vision for where the ATM industry and ATMIA will be by 2017.

At a time when new ISO ATM markets are opening up in countries as diverse as Japan, Indonesia and China, "ATMs in Asia 3" will also look into the significant independent ATM growth prospects for the region. The world’s largest ISO, Cardtronics, which operates or owns more than 25,000 ATMs, will speak on “Rapid ATM Deployment, Extending Reach, Reducing Capital Investment in New and Existing Self Service Markets”. Independent deployer and switch operator, Customers Asia, will share its views on the “Competitive Advantages of Building a Switch from Scratch with a Built-in Surcharge Dispensing Technology”.

And Patrick Mao, General Manager of Nautilus Hyosung in China will address the audience on the growth of the off-premise, non-bank ATM market in Asia. Brad Evans, General Manager of Phoenix Interactive will show how to improve the Total Cost of Ownership of Advanced Function ATMs. Nigel Lee, President North Asia Region of First Data China will outline with which payment technologies Asia is most comfortable, looking at the most popular current payment technologies in key Asian markets.

The conference takes place on the 28-30 May at the Westin in Beijing, China.

For more information, email Amanda Hardy at amanda@atmiaconferences.com or phone her at ++44-(0)207-6036082.

Join ATMIA in celebrating our 10th anniversary during our 5th Annual Canada Conference in Toronto; the economic capital of Canada.  The conference will focus on the hottest topics facing the ATM sector in Canada.

The keynote speaker is the new President/CEO of the fastest-growing, most used, trusted and reliable method for electronic commerce in Canada, Mark O’Connell of Interac Association.  Mr. O’Connell will outline what the invention of the ATM has meant to Canada as well as provide a comprehensive analysis on a range of topics relevant to the state of the Canadian ATM industry.   

Other features of the conference and exhibition at this established Canadian event include:

• Visa is offering a one-day Workshop focused on Securing Financial Transactions fulfilling
• the requirements for Independent Sales Organizations (ISOs), Third Party Services (TPS),
• and staff from Member financial institutions.
• An official review of the Canadian debit card migration programs timeline and mandates,
• including an overview of the Kitchener-Waterloo Chip Trial starting later this year, as well as
• how to generate extra income from EMV chip cards
• A presentation on the replenishment of ATMs, the cost of cash inside each machine and
• to what extent cash management improves operational efficiency.
• What are the benefits of wirelessly connecting ATMs, including sample implementations
• and strategies, as well as costing using real-life case studies and insight into what you should
• look for when considering wireless as an access solution.
• What are the motivations for ATM outsourcing and how do the benefits weigh up against
• the costs involved?
• An international overview of delivering unique offerings at the ATM
• An in-depth security review on:
  • How ATMs are used to harvest information and as a source of laundering counterfeit currency
  • Managing ATM Data Security Requirements in the Internet Age
  • PCI DSS
  • Security of Processing Transactions from ATMs via Public Internet

For complete details about the event and how you can be a part of this conference, please visit www.atmiaconferences.com or contact Amber Howell at +1-605-428-5400 or Dana Benson at +1-605-528-7270.

If you have questions about membership, please contact Lana Harmelink or +1-605-693-3172.

SAVE THE DATE!

ATM Security in the Americas is the only conference in our industry dedicated exclusively to ATM security-related topics and issues.  It is designed to provide you with the information you need to ensure the success of your ATM program today and into the future.

Join your peers and learn how to establish a fraud-adverse culture in your organization, ensuring program stability.  Participate in group discussions surveying the legal and regulatory landscape in the US, Canada and Latin America.  And hear about the technologies and best practices that can help with ethics and fraud prevention for 2008 and beyond!

Mark your calendar for September 11–13, 2007 and make plans to join us in Las Vegas for the ATM Security in the Americas 2007.