Watch an ad, avoid an ATM fee
Would you happily watch a videotaped advertisement in order to access your money for free?
This post comes from Brian O'Connell at partner site MainStreet.
It's an innovative concept -- a free ATM that not only dispenses cash without those nasty $2 and $3 fees, but also dispenses video ads while you wait for your money to pop out.
Free ATM NYC debuted the new ATM in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn, N.Y., with a unique twist: It will dispense cash to any bank customer and will skip the fee as long as the user agrees to watch a video advertisement from a third-party company that covers the fees users would normally incur for using the machine. You may be a captive audience for advertisers, but at least you won't be paying any fees to access your money.
Expect the trend to hit ATMs near you as the no-fee option catches on. ATM fees are a huge thorn in the side of bank customers. The average bank ATM fee stood at $2.33 in 2010.
And it gets worse. According to Long Island, N.Y., credit union NEFCU, some big banks have been testing ATM fees in the $4 and $5 ranges targeted at noncustomers.
No wonder people are marching in the streets protesting against big banks. Post continues below.
Here's how the free ATM process works, according to the tutorial on the Free ATM website:
- Before the transaction. Free ATM NYC uses third-party advertising to attract customers, with a 15-inch video LCD screen to enter your personal financial information.
- During the transaction. While a transaction is processed, third-party advertisers broadcast video ads, much like many gas stations have started to do at the pumps. The ads are shown on a separate 10-inch digital LCD screen embedded in the ATM.
- After the transaction. After completing a transaction, customers receive branded receipts or coupons with the advertiser's name or logo.
The owner of Free ATM NYC, 25-year-old Clinton Townsend, has ambitious plans for the concept. Eventually, he wants to bring the free ATM onto the turf of big banks, right in the heart of New York. First though, the company plans to roll out free ATMs in underserved areas in Harlem and Queens, where fees average up to $3 per transaction.
Townsend is going to need more advertisers -- only a few have signed on so far -- but the concept is an intriguing one for businesses. Like at a gas pump, consumers are a captive audience at an ATM, even if only for 30 to 60 seconds.
But that's just enough time to sell a bar of soap or tickets to a show in New York. Big banks won't like it, but tough luck. A free ATM is a breath of fresh air in a banking industry that has long seemed to suck all the profits it can off of its customers, so the trend could be here to stay.
More on MainStreet and MSN Money:
Just what I want~an even longer wait in the ATM line! I already have to wait for slow pokes to sit there while they look at their receipt, put their money in their wallets/purses & get 'organized' ! They don't think to MOVE OUT OF THE WAY beFORE doing this! Yes, count your money~quickly, & check your receipt~quickly! THEN MOVE OUT OF THE WAY to get it all organized! It takes a few seconds between cash & receipt, so there is time to do this without clogging up the line! NOW, we have to wait even longer? Nope. Not gonna fly! How do they know that we WANT to patronize the businesses or even consider it a 'good deal' who give us the coupons!
I agree with elliot irwin(not on 'BUSH IS GREAT'!)about the robbery thing. NOT safe!
Shoving advertisements down our throats in order to keep from paying a whopping fee sounds a lot like extortion.. Either watch or pay extra! I mean, come on, it's not like banks don't already make billions off of us every year, now they have to resort to doing this garbage to make even MORE?
Give me a break!!
I too agree with Elliot and Glenn.....For years and years we have been taught about being "Safe" around ATMs. We are told to make sure our surroundings are clear before we even approach the ATM, to pay close attention to what's going on around us while we are conducting our ATM transaction, and to leave the ATM as quickly and safely as possible as soon as the transaction is completed.
Now some fool has come up with a "Gimmick" that will keep us hanging around the ATM for 30 to 60 seconds longer than usual, and a gimmick that draws our attention AWAY from what's going on around us, just so we can save a couple of dollars in ATM Fees. This is just absolutely asinine, IMO.
Frost Bank down here in Texas already has those little screens at the Drive Thru Lanes. Sitting safely in your car watching that screen during regular banking hours (daytime) is one thing, Watching that screen at 8:47PM in the dark trying to grab a quick $100 from your account is another. Again, asinine idea....period.
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