A young New York entrepreneur has one word in response to complaints about high A.T.M. fees: Advertising.
Free ATMs NYC, brought to you by Clinton Townsend, 25, offers free withdrawals to all users. The catch? While you wait for your cash to be dispensed, a 15-inch screen on the machine plays an advertisement. Then, when you get your receipt, it will have a coupon for a discount, perhaps at a restaurant nearby.
Mr. Townsend said he wanted to install the machines in areas of New York City that the big banks were not serving and where independently operated A.T.M.’s charge as much as $3 per transaction. “We’re looking to eliminate that,” he said in a phone interview.
The idea of using A.T.M.’s as talking billboards isn’t new. But banks generally have used them to advertise their own products and services. Also, those A.T.M.s aren’t free if you don’t have an account at that bank. “Our A.T.M.s are free to everyone,” Mr. Townsend said.
The company’s first free A.T.M. just began operating at the Knitting Factory, a music club and bar in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood. Mr. Townsend is subsidizing costs at this point, but the machine does display the calendar of events at the Knitting Factory, he said. (Transactions conducted at the machine are handled by WorldPay, a card payment processor). Mr. Townsend says he has had inquiries from third-party advertisers and thinks the idea can catch on.
Would you put up with advertising if it meant withdrawing your cash was free? Where would you like to see one of the A.T.M.’s?
Article source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=9aeeedc799345f893a1ad41579037f9d
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