SEPTEMBER 2022
WISCONSIN BANKERS ASSOCIATION
FOUNDED 1892
ITMs Are Catching On With Bankers, Customers Interactive teller machines (ITMs): the convenience of an ATM plus personal service
“An ITM can do deposits, withdrawals. It can change the PIN on your debit card. Loan payments. Really anything
By Paul Gores While some financial institutions still are considering whether to install interactive teller machines, Wisconsin banks that already have invested in ITMs say they’re becoming an increasingly important part of their business strategy. ITMs — essentially enhanced-function ATMs that let a customer speak with a teller via a video screen — allow in-branch employees to focus on higher-
you can pretty much do over the teller line, you can do at the ITM.” — Lisa Schwalen retail market manager Bank of Luxemburg
level interactions with customers while the technology handles routine transactions, bankers say. Wisconsin bankers using ITMs say their customers, in an increasingly videodriven world, want them and quickly become accustomed to them.
» An Adrenaline report from 2021 found that large majorities in all generations thought they would be extremely or very comfortable using an ITM: Millennials, 86%; Gen X, 85%; Gen Z, 80%; and those 55 and older, 72%.
And they note that when the coronavirus pandemic shut down branches in 2020, they were a godsend. “It can do deposits, withdrawals. It has the convenience of having more than just $20s,” said Lisa Schwalen, retail market manager for Bank of Luxemburg. “It can change the PIN on your debit card. Loan payments. Really, anything you can pretty much do over the teller line, you can do at the ITM.”
Banking equipment vendor NCR Corporation calls the ITM a “branch in a box.” Among its functions, according to NCR, an ITM can be used to: get cash, deposit checks, cash checks to the penny, handle bill and loan payments, transfer funds to any account, order replacement cards, process savings bonds and redemptions, process CD renewals and inquiries, and issue money orders. Bank of Luxemburg placed its first ITM in a local grocery store in January of 2021. “Ultimately it’s the flexibility that we are hoping to bring to our customers to allow them to do some banking not only outside the traditional banking business hours per se, but also to give them the convenience — going to the grocery store and having it there,” Schwalen said. Bank of Luxemburg now has two other ITMs,
including in a branch drive-through lane, which is how many banks are using them. The ITM essentially replaces the old tube system for exchanging checks and cash between a driver and a teller inside the branch. At Madison’s Park Bank, ITMs are in the drive-through lanes. “We’ve ripped out the tubes and put them in our drive-ups,” said Jeff Kurek, vice president of information and cyber security for Park Bank. Park Bank had ITMs in place before the word “COVID” became part of everyday life. “They were great during the pandemic,” Kurek said. “During the pandemic, the lobbies were all shut down. We were told to shut down. And we had employees who still had jobs to do. So the customers went up to the ITM. They could open up a bank account if they’d so choose. (continued on p. 22)
Address Service Requested UMS
Madison, WI 53718 4721 South Biltmore Lane Wisconsin Bankers Association
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