Allpoint to Offer ATM Account Deposits, But Prepaid Reloads Remain Elusive (June 19, 2014)
Cardtronics plans to add a new deposit function to more than 2,500 ATMs in the company’s Allpoint Network. Set to launch by the end of this year, the service will enable accountholders at participating financial institutions to deposit cash and checks directly to their checking and savings accounts without using envelopes or deposit slips. Once rolled out, the service will make Allpoint the largest retail-based ATM deposit network in the country, according to Cardtronics. The network already is the largest surcharge-free ATM network in the U.S., with more than 55,000 ATMs in merchant locations nationwide.
Right now Cardtronics is not extending the ATM deposit service to prepaid cards, the company tells Paybefore. Using ATMs as a cash reload channel for prepaid was a hot topic a few years ago, but the service has yet to achieve widespread adoption. Some industry observers suggest the process is counterintuitive to prepaid consumers, who associate ATMs with withdrawals rather than deposits. However, Visa Inc. recently told Paybefore that ATM cash reloads for prepaid is gaining momentum, and PNC Bank has enabled its ATMs to accept prepaid cash loads via Visa ReadyLink. First Data’s ATM processing business also supports the capability and approximately 22 percent of ATMs it supports accept cash reloads to prepaid cards, according to a spokesperson.
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