Cashless ban activity surges in the new year
The latest and biggest news on the cashless front is that the New York City Council passed a bill on January 23, 2020 that makes it the largest city to require retail establishments to accept cash as a form of payment. Although there has been no formal comment from the mayor’s office, he is expected to sign the measure into law. The original proposal to ban cashless retail establishments in New York City was introduced more than a year ago.
Under the bill, businesses that refuse cash face fines of $1,000 for a first violation and $1,500 for each subsequent offense. Businesses with devices that convert cash to cards, like those found in many laundromats, are exempt under certain conditions, including a provision that there be no fee for such cards.
There has also been some early 2020 activity at the state level. Oregon had introduced a bill last year to prohibit cashless retail, but it failed upon adjournment in the final session. A new bill was introduced on January 27. It states that it is unlawful for a place of “public accommodation” to refuse to accept coins and currency from a customer or make any distinction or restriction because a customer is paying with cash. Unfortunately, there are so many exceptions allowed that the law would be virtually toothless.
Vermont introduced its own measure. Violation of the law would be considered an unfair method of competition in commerce and unfair or deceptive act or practice in commerce. A new bill proposed in California designates a small fine for violators. New Hampshire was the first state this year to introduce a cashless ban on January 8, making it a violation of their consumer protection act. Connecticut reintroduced a bill this week that was originally filed last year.
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Best regards to all,
David
Feel free to reach ATMIA USA executive director David Tente by email at david.tente@atmia.com or telephone +1.407.833.7906.
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Industry fund name changeThe U.S. Regional Board had a discussion about the Defense Fund at its in-person meeting last week in conjunction with the 2020 annual conference. Concern was expressed that the term 'defense' implied that there are ongoing attacks on the industry as a whole. And that 'Defense Fund' no longer accurately describes the purpose of the Fund.
It was suggested that the U.S. Industry Defense Fund be renamed as the U.S. Industry Advocacy Fund. ATMIA efforts to promote consumer payment choice and support a reasonable regulatory regime are more accurately described as advocacy efforts, rather than defensive moves. U.S. Board co-chair Chris Baird called for a motion to make the name change, which was agreed to unanimously.
Navigation links on the website have already been changed to reflect the new name. Graphics and other materials will transition to the new name as opportunities arise to do so.
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Secret Service and NCFTA track U.S. skimming activity
This skimmer activity "heat map" was created by the NCFTA (National Cyber-Forensics Training Alliance) and provided to ATMIA by the U.S. Secret Service. It represents reported skimming incidents for Q4 2019. Although 95% of those incidents involved fuel pumps, 46% resulted in cash outs.
ATMIA was invited to participate in ‘Skimming 2.0’ this past November, hosted by the U.S. Secret Service and including law enforcement from across the country. This was the second such event, designed to address the many different aspects of card skimming, emerging technologies, and efforts to take down the organized crime groups that are often responsible for larger losses. ATMIA members participating included Diebold Nixdorf, Citibanamex, Cyttek, and Cardtronics.
The information presented at these meetings is particularly valuable in that details about recent ATM crime are very hard to come by. For example, a Cuban crew based in S Florida had been operating as far north as New York and as far West as Utah. Cards were being skimmed primarily at fuel pumps, then encoded “on-the-fly” and used to withdraw cash from ATMs. Lots of assistance from operators and cooperation from different law enforcement agencies was invaluable in tracking down the crew.
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First appointments already booked for the 2020 DC Fly-in
Our meetings on Capitol Hill for the 2020 Fly-In will be all day Wednesday, March 25th, 2020 – and start in the office of Senator Kevin Cramer. ATMIA U.S. Executive Director, David Tente, reached out to Senator Cramer's office, offering ATMIA's support for both the No Red No Blue Banks Act and the Freedom Financing Act, which are intended, in part, to finally eliminate the lingering impact of "Operation Choke Point". An appointment is also confirmed with Senator Tim Scott's office - another supporter of a resolution to the bank account closure issue.
Participants are also encouraged to attend a strategy meeting at 5:00pm ET on Tuesday, March 24 at the Hyatt Regency, Washington, DC. Since DC hotels tend to fill up well in advance of planned arrival dates, it is recommended that anyone planning to attend reserve a room now. There is typically no charge for cancellations made by March 20, 2020.
A sponsorship for this event is being offered. The sponsor logo will be included on all communications between now and the actual event, as well as for all follow-up coverage. For more information about the Fly-In event or sponsorship, contact David Tente.
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2020 U.S. conference wrap-upOur sincerest thanks to the attendees, exhibitors, and sponsors for their participation in the 2020 ATMIA U.S. conference and expo last week in Houston – it was a tremendous success. The feedback received has been very positive; particularly with regard to the “buzz” and high level of energy throughout the exhibit hall. Not only was the exhibit hall sold out, but 12 exhibitors took overflow space in the ballroom foyer.
The numbers are not in yet, but from accounts received onsite this may be the largest attendance ever for the pre-conference workshops. Branch Transformation and NextGen ATM sessions were standing room only with seating for about 250. Breakout and plenary sessions were also very well attended.
Overall, the event drew about the same attendance as last year’s conference in Orlando. International interest was up a bit at 142 delegates representing 27 countries. As usual, the single largest demographic was ATM deployers – both independents and financial institutions – accounting for about 44% of all attendees.
Our Keynote speaker, Gene Kranz, received a standing ovation for his recount of efforts to safely bring home the Apollo 13 crew on April 17, 1970 – “Failure is not an option”. He was the leader of the “Tiger Team” of flight directors who also worked the Apollo 11 mission. Gene Kranz demonstrated extraordinary courage and heroism.
ATMIA staff is already hard at work on the 2021 conference in Las Vegas, February 3 - 5. Watch for announcements in the months ahead of our conference theme and Call for Speakers.
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Get a head start on hiring for 2020 The industry's best and brightest talent can be found on the ATM Industry Career Center – and at member pricing that is exceptionally competitive. Post to a job board that serves one field – not several. We are a niche job board created specifically for the ATM community, so our candidates have the specialized skills and relevant, up-to-date experience to match exactly what you’re looking for.
Employer Benefits:
- Targeted advertising exposure
- Easy online job listing management
- Resume search included with job posting
- Automatic email notifications when job seekers match YOUR criteria
- Member discounts available
To date, the Career Center has registered 199 job seekers, attracted well over 4,000 new visitors and generated 130 job applications.
Intern ads are free and other postings start at only $200. For more information, contact U.S executive director, David Tente, or global director of finance and member services, Sharon Lane.
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ATMIA's David Tente talks ATMs with WGN Radio's John WilliamsA recent spate of ATM thefts in the Chicago area sparked calls into John Williams' morning talk show on WGN Radio in Chicago last month. When a listener told John that some ATMs were able to shred the cash inside if they were tipped over or stolen, he decided it was time to reach out to someone more knowledgeable about ATMs.
The show's producer contacted ATMIA member NationalLink with a request for an on-air interview. Herman Trejo. Director, Sales, thought the request would be better handled by ATMIA, on behalf of the industry, and forwarded it on to U.S. Executive Director, David Tente.
David joined the program for a 16-minute segment that included handling a number of caller questions. WGN has kindly provided a podcast link to David's interview. Topics covered included different types of ATM crime – and many were the types of questions a typical consumer might ask about ATM operation and ownership.
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Sponsor the U.S. NewsletterWant to put your product or service in the spotlight for nearly 5,000 ATM industry professionals?
- Logo and website link in newsletter top box, right column
- Ad supplied by sponsor and sized to 420 x 200 pixels
Sponsor the U.S. Newsletter for a month, a quarter, or a full year. Contact Sharon Lane or David Tente for more information.
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How is your Win10 migration project coming along?Microsoft’s January 2020 support deadline for Windows 7 has now passed - as of yesterday. It requires the ATM industry to consider a path forward for the ATM OS. The ATMIA commissioned this White Paper to assess the potential migration to Windows 10, while also embracing the Next Gen ATM architecture.
While Next Gen ATM architecture is designed to be OS-agnostic, a Windows 10 upgrade leaves little choice but to migrate to Windows 10 IOT Enterprise, considered the only real option for a mainstream ATM industry migration. With the support deadline for Windows 7 now behind us, the question is how to migrate to both Windows 10 and Next Gen ATM architecture.
The research for this White Paper included interviews with four large
banks, three hardware manufacturers, two software suppliers, a non-ATM
industry software provider and a new OS provider. During the review,
further comments were provided to fine-tune the key findings and
recommendations.
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Membership Benefit ReminderThere are so many benefits to ATMIA membership, it's easy to lose track of them all. Watch the Newsletter each month for reminders about one of those membership benefits and tips about how to take advantage of it.
Industry Webinars ATMIA hosts several webinars each year that are focused on timely industry topics. Recordings of these webinars are stored in our Market Research Library for our members to view at your convenience. You can view the list of webinar recordings at https://www.atmia.com/market-research/ and select the ‘webinar’ tab.
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ATMIA members are welcome to participate in the ASA
The new ASA (ATM Security Association) website is up and running - separate from the ATMIA website.
The ASA’s mission is to “help keep ATMs as the world’s most secure financial services consumer touchpoint by providing relevant intelligence, information alerts, best practices and industry standards and solutions for the protection of ATM cassettes, and the cash inside them, in compatibility with health and safety principles and in line with the concept of taking away the reward for the criminal targeting ATMs.”
The Joint Security Council is the governing body of the ASA with elected officers chosen for a two year term. The working groups and committees include:
• Next Gen ATM Security Committee
• The ATM Skimming & Card Data Compromise working group
• The Cassette Security working group
• The ATM Cyber, Software and Encryption Security Alliance
• And the ATM Security Discussion Forum.
All ATMIA members are welcome to participate in ASA committee groups. Access to documents such as the 2019 Fraud Survey Report, best practices, and the Theoretical Risk Assessment tool do require an annual subscription.
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The Cash RepositoryThe Cash Repository is your source for a wide range of current data and information about the global role of cash in society, from a variety of sources.
Recent Articles & Resource
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U.S. security conference registration now open The conference website and online registration are now available. Interest in this new event is quite high and exhibitors have already signed up to secure their place in the exhibit hall. Sponsorship opportunities are also available.
ATMIA and ASA (the ATM Security Association) will jointly host this new conference for the ATM industry. Minneapolis, MN is the venue – June 10 & 11 are the dates. Although the program will primarily address U.S. market concerns, many new forms of attacks are “beta-tested” by criminals in other countries – which is why we will also incorporate emerging threats into the program, wherever they might be across the globe.
Our educational program will include financial institution and independent ATM deployers, law enforcement, manufacturers, and technology and service providers. Learn more about emerging security threats, as well as new strategies for battling the familiar ones.
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Upcoming committee meetings
All upcoming U.S. committee meetings are in conjunction with the annual conference and expo in Houston, TX, on February 11 - 13, 2020.
Financial Institution ATM Deployer Forum The FI ATM Deployer Forum group meets every-other-month (odd numbered months), on the third Friday at 2:00pm ET and is limited to financial institution ATM deployers. It meets next on Thursday, March 20 at 2:00pm EST. Meeting invitations will be sent to all committee members.
Independent ATM Deployers (IAD) Committee All IADs and their providers are welcome to participate in the IAD Committee, which meets bimonthly. The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 14 at 11:00pm EDT. Meeting invitations will be sent to all committee members.
Government Relations Committee (GRC) The GRC meets regularly to discuss regulatory and compliance issues affecting the industry, from federal, state, and local governments. It meets next on Thursday, April 23 at 11:00am EDT. Meeting invitations will be sent to all committee members.
Questions and requests for committee meeting invitations may be directed to David Tente
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ATMIA Facebook Page
Have you checked out ATMIA's Facebook page yet? Here are some of the benefits of joining our community on Facebook:
Keep abreast of ATM industry news and developments on:
- Latest technology
- Operational efficiencies
- Upcoming ATM focused events
- And more….
On our page, you can find all things ATM's and so much more. " Like" us on Facebook us today!
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Welcome our new membersNew U.S. members since the last newsletter was published:
Financial Institution level membership
Associate & Small Business level memberships
BBVA Transfer Services, Inc, Houston, TX
eSST lab, St Petersburg, FL
Intelli-call Communications, Inc, Lake Ariel, PA
Money Man ATMs, Fountain Valley, CA
Phazari Holdings, Tampa, FL
Did You Know? You can upgrade your membership level at any time. Move up to Board level for greater visibility and a stronger voice in the direction of the Region. Interested in becoming a U.S. Regional Board Member? A unqiue membership level for financial institutions? Contact David Tente for more information on this and other membership options.
Don't Forget - if your membership is expiring soon, you can receive a 5% discount by renewing before the end of the month in which it expires.
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Earn Discounts on Your Membership and Offer New Members a 20% Discount ATMIA members can now offer friends and affiliates 20% off membership AND earn up to $250 USD in discount on their next membership as part of ATMIA’s new Membership Referral Program. Each referral is worth $50 USD.
“To make it as easy as possible for members to promote the referral program, ATMIA has put together a variety of resources and each member company has been assigned a unique referral codes that can be found under the ‘my account’ tab on the ATMIA site,” says Amber Howell, ATMIA Membership & Social Media Manager.
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February Memberof the Month
Founded in 2002, and commercially processing since 2004, Switch Commerce is a privately owned and operated, ATM processor. Their primary goal is to provide world class transaction services to their customers. Switch Commerce is headquartered in Irving, Texas a suburb of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. The company has been built from the ground up with customers in mind. They operate on their own proprietary transaction processing platform, which allows them to quickly act and react to customer's needs. Switch Commerce first joined ATMIA in 2006.
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