NewThis is your ATM speaking: Fubon Bank rolls out virtual teller ATMs across its Hong Kong branches
The Taiwanese bank is leading the push for videoconferencing-enabled ‘virtual teller’ ATM machines
Plans to upgrade the automated teller machine network in Hong Kong could accelerate on the back of Fubon Bank’s aggressive rollout of advanced videoconferencing-enabled devices from NCR, the world’s largest supplier of ATMs.
That deployment could spur growth in the city’s ATM market, which has contracted for three consecutive years after reaching a peak in 2012.
Research firm RBR said Hong Kong’s population of ATMs shrunk to 3,322 last year, down from 3,398 in 2013.
RBR said high site rental and operational costs, as well low transaction volumes, have been cited as reasons banks are doing a strategic re-evaluation of their branch networks.
Fubon Bank, a subsidiary of Taiwan’s Fubon Financial Holding, will open the second NCR Interactive Teller installation in the city at its Western district branch on Monday, following the recent initial deployment at its Queen’s Road East branch in Wan Chai.
Carmen Yip, Hong Kong-based Fubon’s executive vice-president and head of retail banking business, said she expected the other banks in the city to take heed of this innovation amid stiff competition in the market.
“I believe this [technology] will be the talk of the town after our grand opening on Monday,” Yip said, noting more installations are planned across Fubon’s local branch network. “It doesn’t take a lot of time for customers to learn how to use these machines.”