Research Indicates Financial Institutions Are Adopting ITMs to Meet Customer Expectations for Convenience

A commissioned ITM Sentiment Study was recently conducted by Forrester Consulting on behalf of NCR Corporation, a leading enterprise technology provider. Forrester surveyed 307 interactive teller decision-makers within North American retail banking, including some NCR customers, and 1,213 American bank and credit union customers with personal savings and/or checking accounts. Key findings include:

• Financial institutions are adopting ITMs in response to customers’ expectations for convenience; 40% of organizations reported that customer demands for additional service hours are one of the pain points that drove, or are driving, the organization’s decision to adopt ITMs. And 39% stated that customer demands for faster service and 31% indicated customer demands for underserved locations was the pain point.
• Accuracy and speed are top reasons to work with an in-person teller. The survey found that 78% of customers reported that when they visit a branch to conduct a transaction with an in-person teller, accuracy of transaction is most important, followed by 64% indicating the speed of transaction. In contrast, only 20% stated they conduct business with an in-person teller for human interaction.
• Speed, convenience, and availability are the top motivators to use an ITM instead of an in-person teller. Among consumers that have used an ITM, it was found that 70% of customers used an ITM for availability reasons: because it was faster, financial institutions were closed, it was the closest option, or people wanted to socially distance.
• When comparing the transactions customers conduct on an ITM versus with an in-person teller, the top four are the same: check deposit, cash deposit, cash withdrawal with specific bill types and cash check. Institutions have a strong opportunity to leverage ITMs to move more daily transactions away from in-person tellers, leaving more time for in-person tellers to tackle more complex issues.
• There remains a need for greater education and awareness around ITMs. The survey found that 56% of consumers don’t know what an ITM is, and only 41% have used one. Of consumers that have used an ITM, 26% first learned about ITMs by coincidence when coming to the branch for in-person teller interactions, and 21% thought the ITM was a regular ATM before completing a transaction on the machine.
• ITM adoption continues to rise, and the benefits are evident for financial institutions and their customers. 41% of consumers have used an ITM, and of that percentage, nearly 60% of customers have used an ITM in the last three months. Since introducing ITMs, 41% of financial institutions have improved efficiency between 10-20%. And over half have seen a decrease in session wait times.

“Our Forrester Consulting research highlights the significant momentum for ITMs that we’ve been seeing not just in the United States but globally as well; in fact, two-thirds of organizations expect ITM investments to increase over the next year,” said Terry Duffy, senior vice president and general manager, Self-Service Banking at NCR. “Introducing and expanding ITMs, enables institutions to operate more efficiently while providing a frictionless, digital-first customer experience. We are confident the strategic use of ITMs will continue to transform how financial institutions and customers interact and collaborate.”

NCR helps financial institutions bridge digital and physical touchpoints so consumers can bank anytime, anywhere. Through innovative solutions, NCR simplifies and optimizes banking experiences for consumers and staff alike. NCR provides a modern and efficient end-to-end infrastructure that integrates to the broader enterprise and fintech ecosystem to transform, connect and run self-directed banking.