Old ATM Gets Big Upgrade As NCR Unveils ‘NextGen’ Cash Machine

As the banking world goes increasingly digital, the clunky old ATM is getting a badly need reboot.

NCR Corp. on Monday (Oct. 5) unveiled its next generation of operating software for ATMs, designed to integrate the now decades-old cash-dispensing machines into the digital age.

The Atlanta-based company noted in a press release that its Activate Enterprise NextGen ATM platform is designed to make it “easier and faster to offer new digital services through the ATM.”

“This new software expands the user experience and expands digital capabilities of ATMs,” said Frank Hauck, president and general manager, NCR Corporation, in a statement. “In the future of banking, we see the ATM becoming a dynamic, digital, self-service platform on which banks can deploy new services quickly.”

One of the biggest physical changes can be found in the look of NCR’s next-generation ATM – the traditional, bulky, bunker-like silo has been replaced with a free-standing tablet “designed to attract and retain customers.”

The new software also enables financial institutions (FIs) to transform the ATM into a digital banking platform and an “access point for a range of digital and extended banking services, run in-house or by FinTechs and other third parties,” NCR noted.

NCR says its new, next-generation ATM also offers contactless card support, an increasingly important service amid ongoing concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.

From the retail banking perspective, FIs can also use the new ATM software to market directly to their customers on the new platform, advertising new offers and brand messages.

Banks can also customize the new software platform, incorporating their own branding and design features through HTML and CSS.

“It can dramatically expand the features financial institutions can offer their customers and members,” Hauck said. “A significant number of our current ATM software customers have already committed to upgrading to Activate Enterprise.”