ATMIA’s 6th Annual Washington, DC Fly-in

ATMIA USA concluded its 6^th annual Washington, DC Fly-in March 25-26, meeting with senior staff of seven members – four on the Senate side and three from the House. All of the participants agreed that our discussions were very productive. Those meetings included:

Senator Ashley Moody (FL), Senate Judiciary

Charles Sedore, Legislative Assistant

Senator John Thune (SD), Senate Finance

Adam Wek, Legislative Director

Senator Tim Scott (SC), Chairman, Senate Banking

Matt Rosenthal, Senior Staff

Senator Mike Lee (UT), Senate Judiciary

Alex Gage, Legislative Correspondent; Coy Westbrook, Counsel

Congressman Jim Jordan (R-M-03), Chairman, House Judiciary

Jason Cervenak, Chief Counsel; Ken David, Deputy Chief Counsel

Congresswoman Laurel Lee (R-FL-15), House Judiciary

Nick Adams, Legislative Director

Congressman Barry Loudermilk (R-GA-11), House Financial Services

Sam Millwood, Legislative Assistant

The group expressed ATMIA’s appreciation for the support of current and future bills addressing key concerns of the ATM industry.

A need for increased ATM crime penalties – support for H.R.1631 and a companion Senate bill

ATMIA acknowledges that dealing with criminal penalties on a federal level is a challenging task. However, in 2020 there were about 1,500 bank robberies reported with total losses of $9 million. Burglaries of bank ATMs in the same year increased 165% to about 1,000. Even though there were far fewer incidents, total losses amounted to $41 million – with an average loss of $40,000 per incident. Despite these large losses per incident, many of the offenders end up being charged with a property crime misdemeanor.

Therefore, it is suggested that consideration be given to mandating increased penalties for the theft of ATMs, the cash that they contain, and any property damage that is sustained during an ATM attack. Such a bill was re-introduced in the current session, the Safe Access to Cash Act (HR 1631). 

Four states have recognized the need for new ATM crime laws, but broader action is needed. The negative impact of this crime wave is likely to result in the removal of ATMs from some high crime areas, depriving consumers of convenient access to cash.

De-banking of ATM operators – support for S.875 and a companion House bill

The availability of banking services for independent ATM deployers (IADs) has been problematic since Operation Choke Point was launched by the Obama administration in March of 2013. ISOs and IADs are routinely being denied access to the banking services they need to operate and provide convenient access to cash for American consumers. Worse yet, existing accounts that have been in good standing for decades are still being closed with little or no advance notice.

ATMIA supports the Financial Integrity and Regulation Management (FIRM) bill, S.875, recently introduced by Senator Tim Scott and already has twelve co-sponsors. Revised language in the FFIEC Bank Examination Manual, as well as statements by the OCC and FinCEN have had little to no impact on these circumstances. It is hoped that this bill will finally remove the use of reputational risk in consideration of creditworthiness.

Cashless retail establishments – support for H.R.1138 and a companion Senate bill       

A growing trend has emerged in recent years, fostered in part by the global payment card companies, to eliminate the use of cash at retail business establishments. Proponents of this effort cite security risks, cash handling costs, and transaction times – which are weak arguments at best.

Eliminating cash as a payment option disenfranchises poor, unbanked, and underbanked consumers – for many of which, cash is the only payment option. And it takes away from everyone the favored method of payment for local merchants and transactions under $25. 

Even those with a vested interest in a cashless environment should take a moment to consider factors outside of payment choice. In times of crisis – regardless of the cause – cash is often the only option. News articles will abound about the increased demand for cash and the rush to bring in mobile ATMs. Daily life, too, has its wrinkles – payment networks crash, and power systems fail. The only viable back-up system in all such circumstances is cash.

ATMIA actively supports enactment of legislation similar to the recently introduced Payment Choice Act, H.R.1138, which would require most retail businesses to accept U.S. currency as a form of payment.

Increasing competition for debit network routing of ATM transactions

Testimony of the ATM industry was largely ignored in the creation of the final details of the 2011 Durbin Amendment to the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. Independent ATM operators were denied network routing choice and any other means of influencing their network expenses.

During this past year, ATM networks have begun introducing arbitrary new fees on surcharged transactions. These fees increase transaction cost for the independent ATM operators, who have no control over the rails that their transactions travel.  This creates an environment of unfair competition that should be corrected.

ATMIA is advocating for changes to the Durbin Amendment or new language in the Credit Card Competition Act that would restore fair competition to this market segment.

ATMIA would like to thank NYPD Detective James Lilla and U.S. Secret Service Financial Analyst Vincent Porter for their participation in our meetings.

James and Vincent provided perspective during our discussions that would not have been possible without them. In particular, two of our meetings included legal counsel, both of whom questioned the need for “another crime/penalty being added to Title 18.”

Current law does not always produce the desired results. More often than not, losses of $250,000 or more must be confirmed before serious prosecution can begin. James and Vincent were able to explain those challenges, along with what other “hoops” law enforcement must jump through.

There is no doubt that we were able to bolster the case for passage of the Safe Access to Cash Act in both the House and Senate.

Thanks to our 2025 Washington, DC Fly-in Sponsor

Once again, thanks to FCTI, our sponsor for the 2025 Fly-in. We greatly appreciate their support during the year and for this very special and important event.  A total of 10 ATMIA members participated in this year’s event – one more than last year, and the largest group of all.

2025 Washington, DC Fly-in Participants

David Tente                    ATMIA  

Lonnie Talbert               ATMIA  

Dan Connolly                Armed Courier

Dustin Fusillo                Grant Victor

Chad Bruhn                   Capital One

Scott Neilson                Capital One

Jordan Dawson            NCR Atleos

Gianni Del Vecchio    Pacific Processing

James Lilla                     NYPD Financial Crimes Task Force

Vincent Porter              U.S. Secret Service