Software that runs the internal operation of an Automated Teller Machine (ATM) has seen several waves of adaptation since the first ATMs were introduced more than forty years ago. And now the ATM industry finds itself once again at a crossroads where the next king of the hill of ATM software will be crowned. Will it be another version of Windows? Or will Google Android step in to steal Microsoft's thunder in yet another venue?
Over the past few years, industry experts have predicted the end of physical branches and that customers would progressively move away from cash transactions. However, in an article that was published in 2012, McKinsley & Co. showed that the share of cash in all American retail payments was still nearly one-third. This has forced financial institutions to re-think their models to better predict the amount of cash they’ll need to accommodate their account holders.
Hearing the story about the coming of the cashless society, and how more and more countries are about to forego physical currency is nothing new. That story has been told ever since the first electronic payment technologies were developed. However, as 2015 comes to an end, some countries such as Australia and Sweden are making headlines as they are about to take that first big step and possibly go cashless in 2016. What are the implications... and will it finally happen?
Traditionally, big banks have seen investment in digital channels as an opportunity to improve their cost base, encouraging a shift from high cost channels such as branch and telephony, into online and then mobile.
