Are you in the market for a new ATM? Or maybe you need several new ATMs? How about a whole fleet of new ATMs?
Do you know how much those new ATMs are going to cost you?
Let’s take a closer look. In this blog, you will see why properly calculating your ATM budget isn’t simple. Spoiler alert: it has a lot to do with preferential treatment.
How Much Do New ATMs Cost?
How much do new ATMs cost? The answer, as you’ve probably guessed, is this:
It depends.
But how much does the answer depend? And what does it depend on? In this section, we’ll look into a few reasons why there’s no straightforward answer to the question: “How much do new ATMs cost?”
1. The make and model
Make and model are the most obvious determining factors in ATM prices. An ATM with a video terminal, cash recycling, and other modern bells and whistles will set you back quite a bit. On the other hand, a no-frills base model might cost much less.
The ATM models you choose will significantly affect your total expenditure. But that much is obvious: you choose a more expensive model, you pay more.
We’ll file this one and the next one under, “well, duh.”
2. The number of ATMs
This one is a two-parter. The first part also falls under the “well, duh” mantle. Let’s get it over with quickly.
The more ATMs you buy, the more you’re going to spend in total. Two ATMs will cost more than one. Six will cost more than five (or two). You get it.
Here’s part two:
When you buy several ATMs at once, vendors are more likely to cut you a deal. Essentially, financial institutions can get discounts for buying bulk. So yes, two will always cost more than one. However, two will cost less than buying one and then another one separately. Buying five at once will cost less than buying five individually.
It’s sort of like when you buy anything at Costco. Sure, you’re buying ten pounds of shredded cheddar instead of one, but you do it for the volume discount.
So, part one is obvious. Part two is less obvious, and it’s part of why understanding ATM costs is tricky.
3. Who’s buying?
In the ATM industry, the truth is that some financial institutions get preferential pricing because they have more buying power. Bigger financial institutions can leverage their buying power to bargain for more competitive pricing.
Unfortunately, this means that the institutions with the most money pay the least for their ATMs.
A small credit union might pay 4–5x what a top-5 bank would pay for the same ATM. The buying power of the purchasing financial institution has such a profound effect on the cost of a new ATM that we can’t definitively say how much a new ATM costs.
Final Thoughts
The sticker price of a new ATM will depend on a few things. It will depend on the make and model. It will depend on the number of ATMs purchased. And, most importantly, it will depend on the buying power of the purchasing financial institution.
The ATM industry as a whole is fairly uncommon in this regard. Most industries have stable prices and everyone gets charged the same. But our industry is different.
Reach out to us if you’d like help finding the best prices on ATMs—or maximizing the value of your current fleet—we’d be happy to share what we know or point you toward the best resources.
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