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Carlsbad, Calif. (PRWEB) November 9, 2007 -- A recent survey carried out by the morefocus group indicates that ATM use continues to increase as a function of consumer demand and the lure of commercial profit. With the Bank of America's September 18 announcement that it will raise fees to $3.00 per transaction, installing ATMs as an independent is attracting more eyes than ever. Although consumers continue to complain about the level of fees, it is clear from the research that even at $3.00, transaction costs are still below the pain threshold. At this level, the profits available to small businesses and entrepreneurs become significant, with an increasing number entering the fray. According to one interviewee, the ATM placement bonanza was likened to the new 'wild west', given the significant number of new entrants staking their claims. "It's the reason why many individuals have taken on the installation, placement and leasing of ATM machines as their new business," said Dr. Regan Carey, head of consumer behavior research at morefocus. "You have this environment where usage and fee per usage are increasing together over extended periods of time. As such, the laws of supply and demand remain in balance, while the cash flow and margin opportunities create an electric business environment." The survey focused on the consumer attitude toward ATM terminals as their first point of interest and found that over 61 percent of the 200 person panel preferred ATM transactions to a face-to-face teller experience. At the same time, although 72 percent of the panel felt that fees were unnecessary or inflated, a staggering 92 percent used ATMs on a regular basis, with 55 percent using machines outside of their banks network more than once per month. Those polled reported having paid terminal fees over $4 per transaction and an average of over $2. Yet, when questioned on fees, it became clear that the typical bank customer does not think in terms of the percentage cost. Fully 59 percent of panelists typically withdrew less than $80, with 32 percent taking out less than $40. This equates to an average cost of 7.3 percent for the convenience factor of using a non-network ATM. In respect of the ways in which the different sexes use ATMs, it is clear that women are very much more aware of the fees as a percentage of the funds withdrawn. Fully 72 percent more women than men withdraw over $140 per transaction. With the increase in fees and a large percentage of the polled population reporting an irritation to this, one might expect the usage of these services to be on a decline. What the team at morefocus found, was quite the opposite. Survey stats revealed 87 percent of people feel more comfortable with ATMs than they did 5 years ago and 50 percent of the total making use of a bank or non-bank ATM 5 times a month or more. "The attitude toward fees was definitely an area of interest for us," said Dr. Carey, discussing those panelists that considered ATM fees to be unnecessary and inflated. "What we aimed to understand was why those people who reported that they saw poor value in ATM services continued to use them. Given the frequency of non-bank network use, parsed against the typical amount withdrawn. Quite simply, it is a function of necessity and convenience. Finally, with more than 44 percent reporting that they don't mind paying ATM fees it is clear why so many small businesses see ATM placement as an attractive business opportunity." Full survey results are available at: http://business.morefocus.com/info/atm-survey-results.php Additional commentary and information on the survey results and the commercial trend may be found at: http://business.morefocus.com/info/atm-survey-results.php http://business.morefocus.com/articles/starting-a-business/atms/index.php http://business.morefocus.com/articles/starting-a-business/atms/future-of-atm-fees.php About morefocus group inc. San Diego-based morefocus group inc., builds and maintains on-line consumer relationships. Together with its subsidiaries, the Company owns and controls a leading independent healthcare and lifestyle network together with a suite of proprietary publishing, analytics and behavioral monitoring applications. The publications and software applications are applied to recruit, sample and manage professional and consumer panels and build marketing ROI for major healthcare and consumer marketing corporations. # # # |
