The global ATM market grew by almost 100,000 units in 2003

ATMs and cash dispensers have become the most important customer service channel for retail banks in terms of frequency of customer interactions. Over 56 billion transactions were carried out at ATMs in 2003. While most of these were cash withdrawals, the number and share of non-cash transactions, such as mobile top-ups, balance inquiries, as well cash and cheque deposits is increasing. As markets reach maturity and multi-vendor architecture becomes the norm, competition between ATM suppliers is likely to intensify further. Hardware prices and margins have already come under pressure in the commoditised end of the market, and traditional manufacturers are increasingly focusing on providing total solutions, including ATM management, servicing and outsourcing. Upselling terminals with additional functionality, such as automated cash and cheque deposits is another way of defending margins while responding to an emerging market requirement. The independent deployer market also continues to grow strongly in several countries, driven in part by surcharging and the availability of ATMs from lower-cost suppliers. Key findings from the new RBR study include: - The number of ATMs has tripled in the last decade to 1.3 million at the end of 2003, and increased by 17% since 2001 - Top-5 emerging markets, China, Russia, South Korea, India and Brazil, only represent 20% of worldwide ATM installations, but they accounted for 43% of global market growth between 2001 and 2003 - The global ATM market will continue to grow in the medium-term, albeit at a slower pace, reaching 1.7 million installations by 2009 - Future growth in installations will come primarily from emerging markets in Asia, Latin America and eastern Europe - Asia-Pacific will have overtaken North America as the largest ATM market by 2005, largely driven by a buoyant Chinese market - Mature markets will grow at a moderate pace, largely driven by off-site deployment, which represents an increasing share of installation in these markets and around 40% worldwide - Replacement machines make up an increasing share of ATM shipments as markets reach maturity, and will increase from 51% in 2003 to 80% in 2009 - While sophistication of terminals is increasing, with more terminals than ever running over Windows-based platforms and equipped with advanced functionality, the market for low-cost cash dispensers is also growing