As the ATM turns 50, Auriga, a leading supplier of banking technology for 25 years, is celebrating this original FinTech revolution and looking at the central role the ATM can play in banking over the next 50 years.

“As the ATM turns 50, some people may think that it’s reaching the end of the road – they’re wrong”, said banking technology expert Mark Aldred. “In fact, the future of the ATM is bright in this shifting financial landscape, especially as the technology behind them continues to evolve and offers new services to customers. Customers want easy access to cash, which is expected to be used for over 10 billion payments in 2018.

With bank branches around the country closing, ATMs can be the middle-ground approach between empty buildings or no contact at all. “A combination of self-service machines and staff could be the ticket to reviving a dwindling supply of bank branches”, explains Mark, “Brits still love their cash machines – 43% of Britons still use an ATM on a weekly basis, but banks need to get smarter.”

In fact, the ATM could help banks improve their in branch offering through personalisation. Smart ATMs which talk to other parts of the bank’s tech kit could pre-empt what a customer wants to do at the machine – for example pre-set fast withdrawals for the customer who always takes out £70 for weekend expenses or allowing customers to set up their dashboard to meet accessibility needs.”

The technology is now there for ATMs to support multiple denomination withdrawal, paying bills or doing currency exchange and consumers are ready to embrace it. “Customers want choice – they want to be able to access their account in the way that is most convenient for them. Over the past few years we’ve seen the ATM turn from simply dishing out cash into something much smarter, whether that’s opening bank account or cardless withdrawals.”

“There are opportunities for banks too – new revenue streams and being able to talk to their customers without them being present in the branch, the ATM is truly alive and kicking. This original piece of FinTech is not only here to stay but is also at the front of some of banking’s most exciting developments. Artificial Intelligence,  data analytics and chatbots are just a few of the technological changes making their way towards ATM machines and the benefits to consumers could be huge”, concludes Mark.