It's All About the Accessories: What Does Your ATM Need?



The biggest factor in making your ATM bring in the most money for you is location. Your cash machine has to be located in an area that has high traffic during peak ATM use hours.



But there's another part to your automated teller that most people outside the industry don't think about. In order to attract these high use customers, your money machine has to be "dressed for success". That means you need the right ATM accessories. And even though just about every part of an automated teller is considered an accessory, some are going to be more right for you than others. In a large market, how do you narrow down your options?

There are some key factors that will help you decide what to buy. And once you know what to buy, it will be easier to decide where to look for your teller's parts.

The first thing to decide on is partly determined by location. Is your ATM going to be a cash machine people walk up to and use? Or will you be installing a drive-thru option? The second is to be handled alongside the first: are you looking at an indoor or outdoor venue for your ATM? These four interrelated factors will make the search for the perfect accessories a bit more streamlined.

If, for example, your ATM is inside a shopping mall, then you won't need to buy a sunscreen for it. However, for a cash machine that will be outside, some accessories become mandatory. One of the most obvious of these is lighting. With personal safety experts cautioning people to avoid cash machines unless they are well-lit, strong back and overhead lights are ATM accessories you cannot do without. Fortunately, most canopies, backdrops, and surrounds sold these days by companies like Heritage have worked this into their overall product design.

Security concerns at outdoor cash machines are also solved partly by two safety measures working together: surveillance mirrors and security cameras. Many companies like SecureVu make these mirrors. These actively increase customer safety by allowing people to see what's going on behind them, ending their activity early if they need to. Security cameras are a valuable ATM accessory because, unless tampered with, they record everything that goes on within their field of vision. To be the most helpful to customers and law enforcement, cameras inside cash machines should be angled to record as much of what goes on around the perimeter as possible.

What other things do you need to get the most out of your ATM? Signage is an essential way to guide people to your machine. There are a lot of options, from neon to toppers. The standard topper is called the "tombstone", because of the close resemblance. While there are an abundance of shapes and sizes to fit your tastes, there's really one main choice with toppers: do you want storage space or not? Some are hollow with a secure lock. This gives you space for the alarm, extra thermal paper, spare rollers and belts, or anything else you might need.