Tranax Aims at a Year-End Debut for Its ‘Self-Service Terminal’

Responding to increasing demand from the independent sales organizations that distribute its ATMs, Fremont, Calif.-based Tranax Technologies Inc. is planning to introduce a low-end multifunction machine toward the end of the year that will combine conventional cash dispensing with typical kiosk functions like ticket and gift-card sales and check cashing with imaging. In an interview with Digital Transactions News, Scott Holt, product marketing manager at Tranax, which sells heavily into the off-premise or retail market through ISOs, says the company hopes to begin selling the new device at a rate of about 100 per month. Its cash dispenser for the off-premise market, by contrast, commands sales of about 1,000 a month. He says the price of the new machine should fall into the $7,000 to $11,000 range, or less than half what high-end machines with combined ATM and ticketing capabilities list for. The machine, which Tranax calls a “self-service terminal” or SST, will consist of the company's Mini-Bank 2500 ATM with modules attached to perform specific tasks, such as ticketing or check-scanning. By adopting this modular approach and avoiding an “all-in-one” machine, says Holt, the company hopes to hold down manufacturing costs, a critical endeavor in this price range. Holt says a number of ISOs that work with Tranax were looking for a new product to sell that would include advanced functionality and that would offer expanded revenue opportunities. New, non-financial functions have become more practical with the advent of Windows operating software in ATMs, while new laws, like the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (Check 21), have created opportunities for SSTs to perform services like check cashing with image capture at the terminal. Unlike a typical cash dispenser, which an ISO would locate in a retail store or movie-theater lobby with the agreement that it would split transaction fees with the merchant, an SST could be sold to a merchant interested in earning revenue from the advanced functions, while the ISO could collect all transaction fees on the ATM side, Holt says. Fee splitting on the non-ATM transactions, he argues, would be difficult because most consumers won't pay convenience fees at a kiosk for tickets and other services. In a presentation yesterday at a conference in San Diego sponsored by the ATM Industry Association, Holt told his audience that the new devices present significant hardware and software integration issues. “You don't just plug it in and it works,” he said. But the rewards are well worth the effort, he said, noting, “there's now the ability to make money” off of advanced, commercial transactions.