Interesting to see so many people involved in such a niche market here on ARFCOM! Pretty cool!


This is true. We on the service side aren't really all that privy to the sales and operations side of things.

Speaking for myself, all I can do is try and offer information about how the ATMs function, what functions best, and maybe even repair advice. That advice is mostly limited to Diebold machines, NCR machines to a lesser extent, and Fujis to a very distant 3rd.

Don't have any hands-on with Wincor or Hyosung so those are outside of my wheelhouse. From what I've heard Wincor machines are pretty good (the Germans always make great things! ) and they are starting to gain popularity here in the US. From what I've heard of Hyosung, they are priced well and obviously are decent in reliability otherwise a big financial institution like Chase wouldn't be buying and deploying them in the numbers I've seen in my area (unless Hyosung is just giving them away to gain market share). Still, being new, I do think that makes them a bit unproven. A little more concerning is that they are coming from a company that does not have a strong background in the financial/banking sector.

I've done some limited wrenching on Tritons and Tranaxs but it was 7-8 years ago when I was first starting out in the ATM field. My impression of those is that they were fine for light duty use but the components were not made with much more than that in mind.

By the way, if it means anything, I had the best repair numbers in my service branch last year.


This I'd respectfully disagree with. The big thing it's really going to come down to is customer volume.

If you get placement in an area that is going to see high volume, a lighter duty machine like a Triton or Tranax is just going to end up breaking more frequently and costing more money to keep in repair, especially if the end user is going with a lower end service contract. Think lots of billed parts and lots of billed hours to fix. Neither of which are inexpensive.

It's probably true that the higher volume areas are already likely to be covered by the big boys but, I just want to let readers know that expecting a light duty Triton or Tranax to reliably handle heavy use is not realistic. Tritons and Tranaxs are probably adequate for most small-time owners though I can tell you, I think you would get far more peace of mind with a better built machine like a refurb Diebold or even NCR.

One other ancillary aspect to consider is the crime rate in the area a machine is going to be placed in. I've got a whole folder on my computer full of pictures of Diebold machines from around the country that have held up to attempted break-ins and vandalism. Those light duty machines are inherently going to be less likely to defeat an attempted break-in or be vandal resistant.


Personally, I don't think any of the above are shit. They are just lighter duty machines built to lighter specifications. Some customers end up getting them and try to use them in ways they aren't designed to be used and as a result they end up getting ragged out and being broken down, costing money instead of making it.

To continue the vehicle analogy, you wouldn't use a Kia Optima to haul a horse trailer just as you wouldn't use an F-550 as a daily driver/grocery getter. If you're going to be servicing a lot of customers, buy once cry once. If you aren't, yeah, you may be better off with a less expensive alternative.

I'd disagree about the number of cassettes multiplying problems in my experiences. Most of the problems I run simple service calls on are things like the software (usually Windows XP) hosing up, problems with the card readers and customers jamming cards their dog chewed on in there, or receipt printers jamming up. Cash problems do happen but that really comes down to the fitness of the cash and how it is loaded as opposed to the mechanics of the dispenser units. At some point in one of my hundreds of hours of training classes at corporate, I heard that a vast percentage of problems with cash dispense reliability comes down to cash fitness and loading. I wish I could recall the exact percentage but I don't. I do remember it being absurdly high though.

Of course all dispenser units do have wear parts (feed wheels and transport belts in Diebolds and suction cups and non-field replaceable transport belts in NCRs) that will need replaced every so often but so long as those are kept up on, dispensers are generally pretty reliable.


You are 1000% spot on with that! Those bastards cause some of the most hellacious jams I end up having to clear. Nothing like having to break out a pick and forceps to get little tiny pieces of stamp out of the deepest depths of the transport path. Then having to try and get some alcohol on a swab down in there to clean out the adhesive left behind which, if you don't get all of it, will cause more hellacious jams!

Anyone thinking of loading stamps, DON'T!


Personally, I have never seen an ATM doing any of those things. If the big boys aren't doing it, that's probably a good indication it is a waste.

Again, great discussion! I usually end up just hanging out and reading a lot on ARFCOM as proven by my join date and post count but it is nice to have a thread I can get in on and help others out with.

Tag for learnage.

This is a great thread! From what I'm seeing though, maybe more money is to be made by finding non-ADA compliant ATMs and suing the owner, rather than trying to break into the ATM placement business.

So, what are the ADA compliant requirements?

TI, quick question. I have 3 ATM's deployed now and am considering putting a couple more out this year. What should I expect to pay an armored car service to stock them on a routine basis? I don't know at what point it becomes profitable for me to use such a service, but I'm interested in going that route if feasible. Thanks!

Is there an type of insurance available to protect your cash if the machine gets ripped off or if you get ripped off while loading it / transporting cash?

I think I'm missing something ... You stock the machines with your own cash, right? Or no?

So you stock the ATM with, say $3000. Some guy comes along and takes out $20, and is charged $2.50. So you're lighter by $17.50. Where does the profit come in?

Ahh, thanks for clearing that up.

I think the market is pretty well saturated today; however, that doesn't mean you can't get into this as a business. My placements were through word-of-mouth, networking with friends and family, etc. I also keep my eyes open for broken ATM's at existing businesses. I come across them, in some good locations too, a few times a year. If I were actively trying to put out units right now, I'd send letters to the business owner touting my services each time I come across them.

New construction projects can spawn retail or other opportunities for ATM placement. I have a couple standard cover letters I can send to any business on a whim.

TI would probably have more input on this than I can provide.

What exactly do you mean by this? Do you have a guarantee of up time, always clean and good looking machines, low fees, offer to split fees, etc? What are you offering to get them to switch?