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Topic: rediATM Scheme

Armaguard finalises Cuscal rediATM Scheme acquisition

Posted on by Rachael Shupe

Melbourne, 14 August 2019 –  The Armaguard Group announced today the purchase completion of Cuscal’s physical ATM assets and has now taken over the management and operation of the rediATM Scheme together with all customer-owned servicing contracts.

This purchase allows Armaguard to facilitate the continued provision of cash across the community.

Gary Allen, CEO, Armaguard Group, is pleased to confirm the sale: “Our investment in this well-established network is part of our strategy to support ongoing essential services of cash distribution to the community.”

“This acquisition is a natural extension of our current cash supply chain business. Our core business is currency management, which includes supporting financial institutions with the circulation of cash into the community. We aim to ensure that everyone has access to their cash where and when they need it, and part of this is through the provision of ATMs in communities across Australia.”

Commenting on the completion of the sale, Craig Kennedy, MD, Cuscal stated: “The sale provides continuity and sustainability of ATM Services for our clients and their customers, while allowing us to focus on our core strategic areas of mobile, real-time and data. We are proud of what we have achieved in the last 10 years with the rediATM Scheme and look forward to supporting Armaguard’s future plans with our driving, switching and settlement services.”

Gary Allen sums up: “We are working closely with Cuscal and will continue to enjoy a long and positive relationship together. We now have everything in place to ensure a seamless business transition for rediATM Scheme members and their customers.”

Media Contacts
Media contact details Armaguard Group: Cathy Canham, cathy_canham@linfox.com
Media contact details Cuscal: Simone Shields, sshields@cuscal.com.au

Armaguard Group acquires Cuscal rediATM Scheme

Posted on by Uberbrand

Person pushing ATM button

Sydney, 26 February 2019: Armaguard Group announced today the signing of an agreement to purchase Cuscal’s physical ATM assets and to take over the management and operation of the rediATM Scheme.

The rediATM network provides direct charge fee-free transactions for the cardholders of rediATM Scheme members, with an extensive network of ATMs across hundreds of unique locations, including regional centres Australia-wide.

The purchase aligns the core competencies and future plans of both the Armaguard Group and Cuscal.

The Armaguard Group has decades of expertise in ATMs, and currently provides services to the majority of existing ATMs in Australia. This purchase allows Armaguard to provide additional end-to-end currency and technology management solutions, and facilitates the continued provision of cash across the community. Cuscal is a payments business and its future strategy is centred on mobile, real-time and data initiatives. This sale allows Cuscal to focus on its future plans while ensuring its clients and customers continue to receive convenient, secure, 24/7 access to their money.

Gary Allen, CEO, Armaguard Group, is delighted about the purchase:

Our core business is currency management, which includes supporting financial institutions with the circulation of cash into the community. We aim to ensure that everyone has access to their cash when they need it, and part of this is the provision of ATMs, an essential service to communities across Australia.

We look forward to investing in this well-established network to support ongoing services to the community.

Commenting on the sale, Craig Kennedy, MD, Cuscal said:

We are proud of our history in ATMs. We worked with one of our clients to offer the first ever modern ATM back in 1977, and the rediATM Scheme has given millions of people secure, easy, direct-charge free access to their cash for nearly 10 years.

However the ATM industry has evolved, and our business has changed. We strongly believe that this sale is the best way for our clients and their customers to continue to get secure, convenient access to their cash. We will continue to drive, switch and settle for ATMs, while spending more time on our core strategic areas of mobile, real-time and data – enabling our clients’ customers to make payments wherever they are, with whatever device they choose.

Gary Allen sums up:

While the deal is subject to regulatory and other approvals, we expect it to be completed in the coming months. This acquisition is the natural extension of our current technology driven business, and we look forward to a seamless transition for rediATM Scheme members and their customers.

—ends—

Media contact details: Eva Donaldson, 0429 449 963, eva_donaldson@linfox.com

Media contact details: Jake Waddell, 0417 312 902, jwaddell@cuscal.com.au

Managing ATM fleets in a cashless Australia

Posted on by Uberbrand

Three ATMs in a brick wall

The recent announcement that Suncorp will be joining our rediATM network is the latest example of a financial institution adjusting to the gradual decline of cash and ATMs. Cash usage is down 22% over the past five years and ATM transactions are at a 15-year low. Against this backdrop, financial institutions are looking closely at how to manage their ATM fleets.

But while ATM usage is declining, they’re not gone yet. ATMs remain a convenient and secure way for customers to access their money, and are a more economical option than bank branches for financial institutions to maintain a physical presence. Contactless and digital payments are on the rise, but many people still like the feel of cold hard cash in their hands. So the question is: how do you balance the decline in ATM use with the existing needs of customers?

In these times, consolidation and sharing of ATM facilities is the best move for most financial institutions. It’s a good way to reduce expenditure in a declining market without exiting altogether. In the ATM industry we saw Cardtronics acquire DCPayments in October last year, adding 25,000 ATMs to its global portfolio of 225,000. Combined with the recent Suncorp announcement, there’s little doubt that more consolidation is on the horizon.

The cost of remaining relevant
Along with the constant maintenance expenses that come with owning an ATM fleet, there are some hefty and unavoidable new costs approaching in Australia.

For instance, the arrival of the next generation banknotes and their enhanced security features will necessitate a hardware upgrade. The new $10 note to be introduced later this year will mean changes for accepting deposits, while the new $50 note, coming next year, will mean dispensing hardware across the country also needs to be upgraded.

At the same time, ATM owners need to evolve their offering to remain relevant and increase the range of functions they provide. In the coming year, we will upgrade our rediATMs with new technologies that will make them more useful to customers and more valuable to financial institutions. Here are just a few of the innovations planned for the near future:

  • Paperless receipts – receive your receipts via sms or email
  • Contactless ATMs – rediATM will soon release contactless functionality
  • Cardless cash – customers can get a code from their mobile banking app to use at selected rediATMs.

These changes, and others to come, will continue to turn ATMs into secure self-service portals that will reduce branch costs for financial institutions while providing 24/7 service to customers. Sharing your ATM network will allow you to offer innovation and balance the cost of providing points of presence across Australia.

Innovation and maintenance comes at a cost, and that investment is being made in a climate of declining ATM use. So is it worth the investment?

Why shared ATM networks are the way to go
Reducing costs is a major driving factor for joining a shared ATM network – but these agreements also benefit financial institutions in several other ways. For example:

  • Providing increased ATM locations to your customers without deploying additional machines
  • Setting an agreed strategic direction through established governance practice for the network, such as the rediATM Advisory Council
  • Benefiting from collective knowledge and experience to guide the development of the ATM fleet and navigate the cashless world
  • Ensuring your customers can access cash when and where they need it, anywhere in Australia.

Shared ATM networks are not only popular in Australia as a way to reduce costs while continuing to provide a popular service to customers. Bankdata in Denmark manages a national ATM fleet for 11 Danish banks, providing a service that not only reduces maintenance costs for financial institutions, but also maintains brand integrity via digital messaging on the machines once the customer has inserted their card. It’s another example of how a shared scheme can be the best option for financial institutions to provide this still essential service to their customers.

The trend of consolidation for ATM fleets is only just beginning. With upcoming investment necessary to maintain ATM fleets, it’s the right time for financial institutions to consider their options. Joining a shared ATM network like rediATM is the cost-effective way to reduce expenditure while maintaining essential services and points of presence for customers.

By Lauren McCormack, Senior Manager, EFT & rediATMs

Suncorp joins rediATM network

Posted on by Rachael Shupe

rediATM logo
Sydney, 28 June 2017: Suncorp and Cuscal have today signed a partnership agreement for Suncorp to join the rediATM network from 1 August 2017. The rediATM network is made up of more than 90 financial institutions, of all sizes, including NAB, BOQ, CUA, People’s Choice Credit Union, and now Suncorp.

This will mean that more than 11 million cardholders will now have direct-charge-free access to the rediATM network, up from ~10million. The ATM network will also grow from over 3,000 ATMs to around 3,300 ATMs Australia-wide. There are rediATMs in more locations around Australia than any other banking ATM network.

Commenting on the news, Cuscal MD Craig Kennedy said:

“We’re very pleased to welcome Suncorp to the rediATM network. It will make the network stronger and is great news for our 90 plus financial institution members as well as their 11 million cardholders who have fee-free access to the rediATM network.

We’ve been providing safe, convenient, reliable ATM services for more than 30 years and with our recent investment in refreshing our entire rediATM network we’re looking forward to doing so for many years to come.”

Suncorp CEO Customer Platforms, Gary Dransfield, said from 1 August, 2017, Cuscal Limited will become the exclusive provider of Suncorp’s ATMs.

“Suncorp customers will soon have fee-free access to more ATMs, in more locations than ever before, following the announcement of this new partnership,” Mr Dransfield said.

“This partnership meets all of our requirements as a business, and is a great result for customers who will benefit from increased ATM access and functionality enhancements across the rediATM network.”

Cuscal media contact
Jo Savill jsavill@cuscal.com.au 0447 555 018

Suncorp media contact
Alexandra Foley 0419 794 294

Why ATMs need to evolve to avoid extinction

Posted on by Uberbrand

male withdrawing cash

When Charles Darwin developed his theories on evolution and natural selection, he probably didn’t imagine that they would one day be applied to aspects of life outside the natural world. Yet the reality is that just like living creatures, man-made devices often need to evolve to survive. That’s certainly true of Australia’s ATMs. Although our nation’s cash-dispensing machines have remained largely the same throughout their history, in today’s increasingly competitive environment they need to change to stay relevant. In fact, unless they evolve into more sophisticated and useful devices, their survival could be at stake.

Back in 1977 when the first ATM was installed in Australia at the Queensland Teachers’ Credit Union in Brisbane, its purpose was as straightforward as it was singular. Just like the tens of thousands of machines that would eventually follow it, it was designed to dispense cash, thus giving customers an alternative to visiting their bank’s local branch to withdraw funds. In the years since, the number of ATMs across Australia has steadily risen, and today there are more than 31,500 terminals across the country.

Yet despite their proliferation, in recent years new “predators” have arrived on the scene that have rendered traditional ATMs less useful and thus threatened their existence. These days, for example, thanks to the rise of contactless transactions it’s easier than ever to make purchases without cash. And, when you do need or want cash, you no longer have to rely on ATMs or in-person visits to your bank to get it. Instead, you can now readily get cash back as part of your transactions at your regular grocery store or service station.

Not surprisingly, conveniences like these have led to a decline in the use of traditional ATMs. In fact, withdrawals from ATMs are currently at their lowest level in a decade, with less than 60 million transactions per month.  At the same time, however, the costs associated with running ATM networks continue to rise. Plus, the revenue streams they create are now just a fraction of what they were prior to the 2009 legislation that introduced direct charging.

Faced with challenges like these, it would be easy to conclude that ATMs are on the verge of going extinct. The reality, however, is that much like cash, Australia’s ATMs aren’t going away any time soon because they remain a critical part of our banking system. That said, however, you can and should expect to see traditional ATMs giving way to a new generation of machines with the increased security and functionality they need to stay relevant in today’s rapidly evolving banking environment.

The future of ATMs
For ATMs to continue to play an important role in banking, they need to be capable of more than just the withdrawals they handle today. In fact, they need to offer a new array of functionality that helps to ensure that they’re not only compliant and secure, but that they are also far more useful and convenient for customers. For example, the next generation of ATMs needs to offer functionality such as:

  • Intelligent deposits that allow customers to make cash and cheque deposits that are otherwise only possible by visiting a teller.
  • Favorites that keep track of customers’ preferred transactions (e.g. withdraw $100 from savings, print a receipt) and make them available as default services that can be accessed at the click of a button.
  • Nearest ATM capabilities that show customers where the next closest ATM is located if their normal ATM breaks down.
  • Contactless and cardless transactions that create a more efficient, hassle-free customer experience and are aligned with the growth of mobile banking.
  • The ability to have receipts e-mailed to you rather than having them printed out.
  • Foreign language capabilities so that customers can interact with the ATM in their native language.

As a financial institution, the bottom line is that for your ATMs to survive and remain a source of revenue, they need to evolve from traditional cash-dispensing machines into multi-functional, self-service portals that customers can use to meet a much wider array of their banking needs.

Sharing the load
As ATM usage continues to decline and the cost of providing an evolved, fully-featured ATM increases margins will grow ever tighter and more and more financial institutions will question the financial viability of running their own ATM networks. This is likely to result in financial institutions being more willing to ‘share’ their ATM networks with each other. These shared networks will make ‘hard branding’ of physical ATMs (colour schemes and logos) more difficult but they will be able to overcome this with ‘softer branding’ through personalised digital experiences when customers identify themselves. Networks like the rediATM scheme were created to fill this need.

An evolutionary advantage
For today’s financial institutions, there’s an economic benefit to be gained by installing smarter ATMs. By reducing the frequency at which customers need to visit tellers for basic transactions, for example, these institutions can reduce staff. Alternatively, they can ensure that their staff spend more of their time engaged in higher value transactions, including cross-selling other products.

While foot traffic will always remain important to some financial institutions, allowing staff to dedicate more time adding value to their customers’ banking experience is a goal that every financial institution has in common. Embracing the evolution of ATMs into smarter and more helpful devices can be an important step towards making that happen.

Cuscal begins national rediATM fleet refresh

Posted on by Uberbrand

A man using a rediATM

Next generation rediATMs offer extensive withdraw and self-service functionality

Sydney, 25 June 2014: End to end payments leader Cuscal has commenced of a national refresh of Cuscal-owned rediATM machines. The combined $17 million software and hardware upgrade, which will be completed by June 2015, will replace Cuscal’s existing fleet with 1,200 next generation rediATMs that will provide scheme participants and their cardholders with extensive future ready withdrawal and self-service functionality.

The new rediATM roll-out follows the recent transition of all Cuscal driven rediATMs to the Windows 7 operating system and the successful completion of a public pilot of other new rediATM software capabilities at select locations in Sydney.

“After approximately eight months of build, test and certification we are now ready to publicly roll-out our new ATM software and hardware,” said Adrian Lovney, General Manager: Product and Service, Cuscal.

Future ready capabilities already built into the new ATMs include Near Field Communication (NFC) readers for mobile payments, bar code readers, as well as cash and cheque deposit with real time credit.
Cuscal’s new software platform will also significantly advance the functionality of the new rediATMs and better represent rediATM scheme participants to their cardholders through a more personalised and tailored service.

“This phased approach will introduce new functionality such as favourite transactions, issuer branding and issuer advertising to our network and also sets the framework for many new features and enhancements to be built and deployed over coming years,” said Mr. Lovney. “As other networks show signs of consolidation, the new rediATM network will enable our members to provide an advanced withdrawal and self-service channel that puts them on a par with Australia’s bigger financial networks at a fraction of the investment required for an ATM network this size.”

This announcement also closely follows the news that Cuscal has formed an ATM access partnership UnionPay, China’s largest card scheme with over 4.2 billion cards on issue. UnionPay cardholders who visit Australia from April onwards are already able to draw cash from approximately 2,500 of the rediATM branded machines operated by Cuscal and the National Australia Bank.

Adopting a philosophy of partnering and never competing with clients, Cuscal is the ‘brand behind the brand’ to many organisations which require safe, innovative payment options for cost-effective transactional banking services.

About rediATM
The rediATM network is one of Australia’s largest ATM networks. With over 3,000 rediATMs across Australia, it partners with over 100 financial institutions including credit unions, building societies and banks.

The rediATM network provides direct charge free access to over 8 million Australian cardholders.

Cuscal welcomes UnionPay to rediATM network

Posted on by Uberbrand

Cuscal MD Craig Kennedy in front of Cuscal and UnionPay logos
Sydney, Wednesday 18 June 2014: On his first trip to Australia, China UnionPay’s President Shi Wenchao was formally welcomed by Cuscal’s Managing Director Craig Kennedy where they officially launched a joint ATM access partnership at a ceremony at the company’s Sydney headquarters attended by His Excellency Huaxin Li, General Consul, Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in Sydney.

Established in 2002, UnionPay has become a central and pivotal part of China’s bankcard industry with over 4 billion cards on issue and the agreement with Cuscal provides UnionPay’s cardholders with immediate access to the rediATM network across Australia.

Managing Director of Cuscal, Craig Kennedy said:

“Our tourism industry is a significant contributor to the national economy employing over half a million Australians and there is no doubt China and the growing Chinese tourism market is integral to Australia’s future economy.

Investment and innovation are key to that growth continuing and ensuring Australia’s financial system infrastructure is robust, secure and able to meet the needs of these visitors while they here is a top priority.

The Cuscal business model is centered on stimulating competition within Australia’s banking sector and promoting new and innovative forms of payments with cost-effective transactional banking services for its partners.

Cuscal is delighted to welcome President Shi Wenchao on his first visit to Australia and excited to partner with UnionPay – the rediATM network is configured and live, ready to accept UnionPay cardholders and we welcome them to our network.”

According to Tourism Research Australia data released in April 2014, China now accounts for 20 percent of all first time holiday visitors to Australia1 and remains Australia’s top trip expenditure market increasing 16 percent to $4.8 billion during 2013. Chinese visitors to Australia1 are the most valuable inbound tourism market with 700,000 visiting per year spending an average AUD$7,000 per visit, and the forecast is that number will exceed one million tourists who will collectively contribute $10 billion2 to the Australian economy by 2018.

The number of Chinese holiday visitors2 coming to Australia for the first time increased by 27 percent across 2013 underpinning an increase in accommodation nights of 22 percent and a 32 percent increase in trip expenditure up to $1.5 billion.

As the largest card issuer in the world, UnionPay has a unique understanding of where their customers are going, what they are spending their money on and how they want to transact and pay for their purchases. President Shi Wenchao revealed research from across 2013 showed Chinese shoppers now contribute 24% of tax free shopping on a global basis and account for almost a quarter of all transactions worldwide while the average UnionPay transaction in Australia was AU$800.

“We know our cardholders are travelling to Australia for business, leisure or study and are only allowed to carry a maximum US$5,000 cash on each trip so their UnionPay card is a critical payment alternative. The success of our business model is built around issuing cards and securing a global footprint of acceptance for those cards and to that end, it is our aim that 80 percent of merchants and 90 percent of ATMs in Australia will be accepting UnionPay cards within the next 18 to 24 months. Extending the footprint where our cardholders are accepted both with merchants and ATM’s is key to our continuing growth and Cuscal was a natural partner of choice for UnionPay with the size and reach of their rediATM network across Australia. The agreement we are announcing with Cuscal today is a positive step forward that ensures we can deliver our cardholders immediate access to one of the most reliable, robust and secure cards and payments networks while they are here,” he said.

Under the new partnership between Cuscal and UnionPay, cardholders visiting Australia will now be able to draw cash from 1,200 of the distinctive red Cuscal-driven rediATMs in addition to those operated by National Australia Bank. President Shi performed the first UnionPay card transaction at Cuscal’s onsite rediATM. The UnionPay partnership and access to rediATM will be promoted via a gradual roll-out of UnionPay logo decals on the ATMs, as well as on-screen promotions, UnionPay’s website and inbound tourism brochures.

About UnionPay International
UnionPay International, a subsidiary of China UnionPay engaging in international business, is committed to attracting global partners with its membership system, expanding the UnionPay card acceptance network, increasing the issuance and use of UnionPay card, promoting the cross-border application of innovative payment and enhancing the international influence of the UnionPay brand.

At present, through its cooperation with over 300 institutions across the globe, UnionPay International has extended its card acceptance network to more than 140 countries and regions, and UnionPay cards have been issued in more than 30 countries and regions. UnionPay International is providing excellent, efficient and secure cross-border payment service to the largest group of cardholders in the world and increasingly convenient localized service to more and more overseas UnionPay cardholders.

For more information on UnionPay International, please visit: www.UnionPayintl.com.

About rediATM
The rediATM network is one of Australia’s largest ATM networks, with over 3,000 rediATMS across Australia and partnered with over 100 financial institutions including credit unions, building societies and banks.

The rediATM network provides direct charge free access to over 8 million Australian cardholders’.

For further information on the rediATM network please visit www.rediatm.com.au

1 http://www.tra.gov.au/publications/latest-ivs-report.html
2 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-04/china-tourism-boom/4732668