ATM outside Bank: Emulating Skybank, Access Bank Initiative

Greater percentage of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in the country is located within bank premises and thereby restricting a lot of people who are not residing close to bank access to the machine that gives debit card holders access to their money in spite of the bank such account is domiciled.

Against this backdrop, that Skybank and Access bank launched the initiative of deploying ATM in outlets of eateries and some strategic petrol stations aimed at bringing the machine closer to people and thereby increase revenue derivable from the use of the machine by other bank customers.

Nigeria CommunicationsWeek investigations can reveal that the choice of eateries was informed by operational structure of these eateries and such petrol station which have 24 hours power supply with standby generator.

Presently about 20 ATMs have been deployed by the two banks in some eateries and patrol stations even at outskirt of Lagos places like Idimu in Alimosho local government area of the state.

The choice of these outskirt areas of Lagos Nigeria CommunicationsWeek gathered may not be on connected to revelation by Mr. Akinshola Akinfemiwa, managing director, Skybank that N2million was withdrew from one of its ATM overnight at Agege area a suburb of Lagos. According to him most people working in Victoria Island, Apapa and Ikeja and other major towns reside in these suburb raise the need to provide them with ATM through which they can make withdrawal during weekends and close of work.

It would be recalled that this initiative was started by Automated Teller Machine Consortium (ATMC) with a brand name ‘Quickcash’ this was short live as the company could not sustain it. Nigeria CommunicationsWeek investigations revealed that the company contracted the job of managing its network to a foreign company from Netherland, at a high cost which the money it makes from transaction could not sustain, thereby winding up its operation.

The inability of ATMC to sustain this initiative led to some banks that invested in ATMC had to take over the initiative.

A reliable source at Access bank said that bank plans to deploy about 100 ATMs at these locations within and outside Lagos between now and December this year, but has presently deployed 40. It was also gathered that the initiative became toast of banks because of increasing number of use of the machine where banks are generating huge revenue.