ATMIA today announced the launch of an ATM and Cash Revival Plan for an ATM industry hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have listened to our members who told us all their COVID-19 pain points in our recent survey and we are now committed to a series of actions aimed at starting an industry revival,” explained Mike Lee, CEO of ATMIA and Chairperson of the Consortium for Next Gen ATMs.
The advocacy plan has two prongs, a Cash Revival Plan and an ATM Revival Plan.
“To revive cash use, we will continue our cashless bans campaign to ensure mandatory acceptance of cash at retail outlets in markets such as the USA, Europe, Canada, UK and Australia,” Lee said. “We will aim to make the deposit of cash (notes and coins) at ATMs as accessible as possible, while conducting some much-needed PR on the top values of cash, including its role in financial inclusion, household budgeting and its popularity across several demographic groups.”
The Cash Revival Plan will also look at increasing the competitiveness of cash as a payment method by improving cash management and logistics.
“The ATM Revival Plan will include a global protocol for ATM hygiene for what we believe will be a hygiene-conscious society after COVID-19,” Lee added. “In addition, our multi-year Consortium for Next Gen ATMs, with over 330 companies participating worldwide, will reach fruition in 2020 with an online self-certification system for certifying globally interoperable API APP ATMs to move ATMs into next gen capability for the mobile-digital world and the coming Internet of Things.”