ATM Maintenance

If you're in the ATM business or are considering getting into the ATM business, one thing you must consider is ATM maintenance. ATM maintenance includes regular service, as well as setup and installation. Often, these services are performed at your ATM locations by an ATM tech or an ATM installer. Though you likely won't be performing ATM maintenance yourself, it is important to understand the care that an ATM machine requires.

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ATM Maintenance: Replenishing Cash

One thing that will likely need to be performed at least weekly is ATM cash replenishment. Some people, including those who house an ATM on their property but who do not own or lease the ATM, will not be responsible for stocking the ATM with cash. Sometimes, ATM dealers will also stock cash for people who lease ATMs.

However, if cash replenishment is not part of your agreement, you will have to refill your ATM yourself. How frequently you will have to replenish cash depends largely on your ATM location. If your ATM is located in a high-traffic area where your customers frequently need cash, you will likely have to replenish your machine on a frequent basis.

Using your own money and replenishing the cash yourself is the cheapest and most profitable way to go. However, if you have several ATM locations, the amount of cash that you need and the time that you are spending refilling your machines may be too costly. In this case, you might want to consider hiring out cash replenishment to a cash-loading service.

The cost of hiring a cash-replenishment service will depend on:
  • any extra services for which you contract
  • current interest rates
  • how often your ATM machines need to be replenished.

ATM Machine: Regular Maintenance

The price you will have to pay for an ATM tech to come perform regular maintenance will depend, in part, on the agreement that you made with your ATM supplier. While someone who leases an ATM might receive free maintenance, those who buy an ATM will likely need to pay extra for ATM services.

You might be required to purchase maintenance from the company who sourced your ATM machines. For example, franchises might require maintenance agreements as part of their overall packages. In this case, you might be charged a monthly fee of approximately $250 or more, or you may be charged a transaction fee of up to 25 cents or more per transaction.

If you decide to purchase your ATM machine or machines, you might want to purchase a maintenance agreement through the dealer or distributor who sold you your equipment, or you might choose to go to an independent ATM maintenance company. When making this decision, compare maintenance schedules and services to make sure that you get the best return on your dollar.

Services covered under an ATM maintenance agreement might include:

  • checking and refreshing supplies
  • fixing paper jams
  • removing jammed ATM cards
  • visual inspection to make sure that the ATM is clean and that the lights are working properly.

When looking at a maintenance contract, consider:

  • how long the ATM techs have to respond to your calls
  • how many maintenance calls are allowed within a given period of time before the maintenance company can renegotiate or cancel your agreement
  • how much billable services cost per hour
  • what is considered a billable service
  • what type of warranty the company offers on replaced parts
  • when an ATM tech will perform preventative maintenance if the ATM techs have not been called out to solve a problem over a given period of time
  • whether the ATM tech will use new or refurbished parts when repairing your machine.

Resources

ATMexperts. ATM Franchise & ATM Business Opportunities. Retrieved September 10, 2007, from the ATMexperts Web site: http://www.atmexperts.com/atm_dealers.html.

ATM Marketplace.com (2006). Cutting the Costs of ATM Cash. Retrieved September 11, 2007, from the ATM Marketplace Web site: http://www.atmmarketplace.com/article.php?id=5322&na=1.

BizQuoter (n.d.). ATM Business: How to Get in on the ATM Machine Business Phenomenon. Retrieved September 9, 2007, from the BizQuoter Web site: http://atm-
machines.bizquoter.com/buyersguide/atm_business.php.
 
BizQuoter (n.d.). ATM Machine Buyer's Guide. Retrieved September 10, 2007, from the BizQuoter Web site: http://www.bizquoter.com/atm-
machines/buyersguide/atm_machine_buyers_guide.php.
 
BizQuoter (n.d.). Free ATM Placement Programs: What Are the Benefits of a Free ATM Placement? Retrieved September 10, 2007, from the BizQuoter Web site: http://www.bizquoter.com/atm-
machines/buyersguide/free_atm_placement.php.
 
Buyer Zone (n.d.). Best ATM Buying Tips. Retrieved September 10, 2007, from the Buyer Zone Web site:
http://www.buyerzone.com/finance/atm/buyers_guide7.html.
 
Hanke, Mark (n.d.). How to Profitably Own and Manage ATM Machines. Retrieved September 9, 2007, from the How-to Advice Web site: http://www.howtoadvice.com/ATM.