Q&A with Andrew Wingrove at NCR
In 2021, NCR acquired Cardtronics Australia and over the past 12 months has created a uniquely placed technology-as-a-service provider in the ATM space.
Payments Consulting Network’s Director of Data Analytics, Reed Li, had the opportunity to interview Andrew Wingrove, Managing Director – Payments & Network Australasia at NCR, to discuss the latest developments in the business in Australia.
You can read the highlights of the conversation below.
RL: Please provide an overview of the business and the services it provides.
AW: NCR Corporation is a leader in transforming, connecting and running technology platforms for self-directed banking, stores and restaurants. NCR is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with 38,000 employees globally.
RL: What are your key products and services?
AW: NCR helps financial institutions reduce the cost and manage the complexity of running their ATM channel. We do this through ATM as a Service, where we offer a complete end-to-end solution. Financial institutions can choose either specific services or have NCR take full ownership of their ATM fleet and responsibility for running their ATM network.
The NCR ATM as a Service proposition brings a new opportunity for banks to re-engineer their self-service channels. NCR supplies the hardware, software, cash management, and first- and second-line maintenance. Our services include transaction processing, acquiring and settlement, and dispute management. NCR also takes on responsibility for security and regulatory compliance.
By reducing the complexity and cost of operating the ATM channel, NCR helps enable our customers to focus on business growth, innovation and customer service.
RL: Who are your key clients and end users?
AW: NCR serves a wide range of large banks including ANZ, NAB, Westpac and HSBC, as well as regional and community banks like Greater Bank, Hume Bank and Regional Australia Bank. In Australia, NCR owns and operates a nationwide ATM network of 6,500 ATMs. This ATM network is present with ATMs in a variety of retail locations across the country, and our ATMs can be found in some of Australia’s largest petrol and convenience retailers such as 7-Eleven and BP. Our ATM network delivers cash access for consumers across the country, from the capital city Central Business Districts to locations as far-reaching as the Torres Straits Islands and the mining sites in the Pilbara.
NCR plays an integral role in supporting access to cash for the whole community, and that is an important responsibility that we proudly execute.
RL: What do you see as your key strengths with respect to ATM Networks?
AW: NCR has the experience to help our customers transform, connect and run their self-directed banking. We demonstrate our expertise in ATM networks with:
- 1. Leading solutions that are smart and innovative, allowing financial institutions and retailers to remain at the forefront of ATM and self-service technology with standardised software that supports customer withdrawals, deposits, contactless transactions, PIN changes, transfers and more.
- Expert team members with extensive knowledge of ATMs positioned to support cost-effective ATM solutions while providing high-grade availability.
- Accountability, management and maintenance for an entire on- or off-premise fleet solution through NCR ATM as a Service.
RL: What do you see as your key differentiators with respect to ATM Networks?
AW: Certainly, running the largest ATM network in Australia is one of NCR’s key differentiators, providing more points for consumers to access than anyone else in the market.
Further, we are a provider who can take full ownership of the end-to-end solution for our customers, including the ATM, software, transaction processing and acquiring, cash supply and forecasting, monitoring, helpdesk and field maintenance using our own fully trained technicians. In addition, NCR’s leading role as a creator of innovative self-service technology is what makes our business truly unique.
For example, NCR has a proven record of implementing cash and cheque deposit solutions for financial institutions, as well as bringing together the digital and physical world with cardless and contactless transactions.
We remain focused on designing and developing solutions that anticipate our customers’ changing technological needs as well as anticipating changes in consumer preferences.
RL: What were your key achievements over the last 12 months?
AW: We are really excited about Allpoint, NCR’s surcharge-free network. Through the Allpoint Network, banks are able to quickly and cost-effectively expand self-service banking, delivering a better experience for their customers. By bringing Allpoint to Australia and New Zealand we will offer banks and their customers the convenience of surcharge-free transactions where they live, work and play. We are building on an established NCR base of 55,000 Allpoint Network-participating ATMs that are trusted by over 1,200 financial service providers to enable convenient surcharge-free cash access to more than 60 million cardholders.
In the last year, we have gained ACCC authorisation to market the service to banks and financial institutions and there is significant interest in our strategy across the market.
As the largest ATM operator in Australia, we are in a unique position to provide a significant regional presence.
In New Zealand, we recently completed the acquisition of the Bank of New Zealand’s off-premise network, and this month we’ve started converting all 200 of these sites to Allpoint. We will be completed by the end of 2022.
RL: What innovations do you have on your product/service roadmap for the next 12 months?
AW: We have a solid pipeline of innovation initiatives for next year, but our primary goal is to add Allpoint+ cash-in capabilities to our platform and offer a shared deposit service to any bank customer that joins the network.
Allpoint+ has proved successful in the United States where we already operate 1,200+ cash deposit ATMs. There is definitely demand for a non-branch deposit service for the convenience of small businesses and retail customers, and NCR is committed to bringing Allpoint+ to Australia and New Zealand.
We aim to provide the most functionally-rich network in Australia and New Zealand, providing deposits, cardless cash and interoperable contactless solutions at one convenient touch point.
RL: What industry changes or trends to do you see occurring over the next 2-3 years that will have a major impact on your business and how are you addressing them?
AW: The industry is experiencing a period of rapid change. As financial institutions worldwide seek to reduce the cost of providing cash, we are seeing an increased demand for our ATM as a Service solution, alongside traditional outsourcing and/or selling branch infrastructure, as banks seek to find a provider who can manage their ATM estate for them, including technology, asset refreshes, and compliance and risk mitigation.
We are also experiencing increased interest in the use of shared ATM networks or bank hubs that provide a common set of services as a utility. These shared models reduce the cost of providing cash access while improving the customer experience.
NCR ATM as a Service and our network solutions offer a variety of alternatives to help banks realise these goals.
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NCR is a member of Payments Consulting Network’s Australian ATM Round Table.
NCR is also the Gold Sponsor of Asia Pacific 2022: Next Gen ATMs & Payments: Innovate, Advocate and Inspire happened last 7 – 8 December 2022 at The Grace Hotel, Sydney Australia.
Featuring some of the most influential and forward-thinking entities in our global industry over the course of two days, they uncovered ideas and shared knowledge from key global and regional experts.
Author: Reed Li, Data Analytics Director, Sydney, Payments Consulting Network
With over 17 years of diverse experience in professional services, consulting, investment banking, FP&A, finance, and accounting, Reed has cultivated a rich background. He has successfully navigated multiple industries, including payments, banking and finance, telecommunications, healthcare, FMCG, and government. Reed holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of NSW and is a qualified Chartered Accountant (CA ANZ).
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