This article was published on: 10/1/19

The Great Windows 10 ATM Revolt

by: Daryl Cornel

As the trickle turns into a stampede, an increasing number of financial institutions are rejecting Windows 10 ATMs. Others are questioning the wisdom of large capital expenditures for an ATM platform which looks to be headed for extinction. This industry-wide change in ATM buying patterns is a threat to manufacturers and deployers alike. Financial Institutions of all sizes are voting with their feet and moving away from Windows 10 ATMs because:

Windows ATM Upgrades are Expensive.  Financial institutions are currently scrambling in the face of yet another ATM upgrade/ replacement cycle when Windows 7 goes end of life in January. The latest iteration is Windows 10 – whose sunset has already been announced. Benefits of the upgrade to Windows 10 are being described as somewhere between “nominal” and “non-existent.” An estimated 85% of all Windows ATMs will need to be upgraded ($5-8K) or replaced ($40-60K) in order to remain on a Microsoft supported operating system in 2020. This comes on the heels of the recent Windows 7 upgrade from Windows XP which in some cases is still being completed. This latest forced migration to Windows 10 by 2020 is being called “the final straw” by many financial institutions.

Windows ATMs are Vulnerable.  If the spiraling costs of operating Windows ATMs weren’t bad enough, ATMs running Windows operating systems have suffered from an increasing number of malware insertions, hacking and “jackpotting.” These attacks have targeted vulnerabilities in Windows software, Windows ATM configurations and just plain user error. You would think that all of the upgrade pain and expense of moving to a new Windows ATM platform every few years would bring with it enhanced security. Unfortunately, this simply hasn’t been the case.

Windows ATM Manufacturer Support is Terrible. Taking a page out of Microsoft’s book, ATM manufacturers have steadily shortened Windows ATM product life cycles. Why support ten, five or even three-year-old ATMs with hardware and software upgrades when you can simply discontinue product support and force Windows ATM users to buy expensive new gear? The poster child for this scheme is the latest move to Windows 10 which will require the upgrade or replacement of most Windows ATMs. In other words, Windows ATMs which are fewer than 10 years old have already been declared “end of life” by manufacturers. Newer, “supported” Windows ATMs, some only a few years old, will need expensive upgrades. If that weren’t bad enough, Windows ATM users have also been pressured into paying for OEM hardware and software maintenance licenses. These OEM fees supposedly ensure manufacturer support for banks’ investments in ATM fleets. While manufacturer support for Windows ATMs has steadily shrunk, these OEM maintenance fees have not. 

Windows ATM Functionality is Largely Unneeded. While the death of cash has been greatly exaggerated, the death of checks is real and documented. For a couple hundred bucks, businesses of all sizes now have desktop check scanners. Consumers, meanwhile, can deposit a check simply by taking a picture with their cell phone. Those consumers who do choose to tote their checks to bank branches are often seeking conversation with a teller, not an ATM with advanced check deposit functionality. Cash deposits have also been significantly reduced as “merchant fill” retail ATMs have been deployed at retail locations throughout the U.S. Estimates are that $30 billion is efficiently recycled annually as merchants “deposit” till cash into 200,000+ retail ATMs.

Windows ATMs May Have a Limited Future. Although there will always be financial institutions with bottomless ATM budgets, what’s new is the recent groundswell of protest. Partly in response to this FI discontent, the ATM Industry Association (ATMIA) has announced its own blueprint for the next generation of ATMs. Whether these ATMs are Linux-based or CE/IOT-based, what is clear is that PC-based ATMs running on the Windows platform could soon be dinosaurs. In the interim, CE-based ATMs remain a viable option for financial institutions wanting off the ATM upgrade hamster wheel. Economical and American-made, these ATMs are processor supported, NFC capable and PCI ready. OS upgrades for these CE-based ATMs are inexpensive and painless. CE-based ATMs are supported for decades and come without expensive OEM SW and HW license fees. By 2020 the ATM landscape could look radically different.

  • facebook
  • googleplus
  • twitter
  • linkedin

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.