Start an ATM Business (2024)

FAQs

Is it worth starting an ATM business? ›

Yes, owning an ATM machine business can be profitable because there is a consistently high demand for ATMs. Not only do people need them for personal transactions, but businesses also rely on ATMs. Additionally, the cost to maintain an ATM machine is relatively low, which can help keep profits high.

Realistically, however, you should probably expect to pay around $2,000-$3,000. That is the range for the most common, free standing ATM machines. Wall mount ATM machines are smaller and will cost less than a through-the-wall ATM machine designed to service areas with a lot of foot traffic and a lot of business.

Who loads the cash in the machine? As the owner of the ATM machine you are responsible for loading cash in the machine or having a 3rd party load cash into the machine. This cash is also paid back on a daily basis as customers pull cash from the ATM and deposited back into a bank account of your choosing.

This is 3–4 times that of any other type of location. Even more serious, 21% of robberies involving attempted homicide occurred at ATM locations, and 26% occurred at financial institutions. Sadly, 4 of these incidents resulted in actual homicides at ATM locations.

This means if your ATM does 3 – 4 transactions per day you could earn between $180 and up to $360 or more per month. If your ATM falls in the average usage of 6 – 7 per day, and you charged $2.50 you would earn between $15 – $17.5 per day, at $3.00 you would earn over $20 per day or between $360 – $600 per month.

Additionally, you will need to have an adequate cash flow to stock the ATM with available funds. The average ATM goes through $6,000-$8,000 per month. Generally, you will need to have around $1,500-$3,000 per week to fill the ATM.

IADs that own and operate 5-10 ATMs make about $1,500-$2,000 monthly in profit. So if you're looking to make thousands of dollars with ATMs, you will need more than one. However, in terms of one single location, you can expect 40%-70% annual ROI from any location that warrants 80-100 transactions monthly.

The ATM business model is simple and works on a split between the ATM owner, the processor and the vendor location. The processor or bank, charges a fee for each transaction. The fee varies significantly by institution and a range of 20- to 50-cents is not uncommon. The vendor location also takes a cut in most cases.

25,000 which you might have got from renting out your commercial property you will earn a net profit of around Rs. 50,000 per month.

How do you write a catchy business plan? ›

Very few people know that an ATM can be very lucrative for private investors. The opportunity for investment in this asset class can provide strong double-digit cash flow returns and provide you with a steady stream of passive income.

Overestimate cash flow

There are many sources online which tell you that you can make $500 per month or more from each ATM. Most of the time, these estimates are much too high. My recommendation is to do your homework and count on $250-$300 of income on the higher side. $150-$200 on the low side is a safe bet.

In most instances, the company in charge of stocking the machine will be able to work out a refilling schedule based on how much use a particular ATM receives. In some instances, a machine may need to be refilled daily. In other cases, a machine will only need to be refilled weekly or monthly.

ATMs typically hold cassettes with room for 1,000 bills each. If you're talking twenties, ten cassettes add up to as much as $200,000. Usually they hold less, but all told, physical attacks on ATMs cost the industry $4.5 million annually in the U.S.

These are paid by the card issuer to the cash machine operator to cover the cost of the transaction. Their cost is absorbed by the card issuer and not directly passed on to the end customer.

ATM investments provide a steady stream of hands-off passive income and great tax benefits. The depreciation from these machines is all passed to investors and ATMs are eligible for accelerated tax benefits using Bonus Depreciation.

Financial Risk. Again, like any other business, there will be startup costs. And while there is no guarantee you will earn it back, it's pretty difficult to lose money with an ATM. Especially since you can move your ATM anywhere you want to try to find a winning location.

There is now a broad swath of terms that financial institutions and fintechs coined to describe new self-service banking technologies: ITMs, video tellers, IBKs, PTMs, VTMs, self-service kiosks, self-service technologies.

How much do ATMs pay per day? ›

The new withdrawal regime further pegged the maximum cash withdrawal per week via Automated teller Machine (ATM) at N100,000 subject to a maximum of N20,000 cash withdrawal per day.

ATMs will become more, and less complex

The ability to accelerate transaction automation, increase customer satisfaction, and offload employee expense is the holy grail for many financial institutions. At the other end, smaller banks and credit unions are moving towards economical, cash dispensing ATMs.

In off-hours, most machines contain less than $10,000. Typically, your average NCR ATM (NCR being the manufacturer) will have 4 cash cassettes installed in the cash dispenser. Most banks choose to fill their cassettes with $20 and $50 bills which give the machine a cash holding value of $120,000 to $240,000.

Overall, usage in the global ATM market is on the rise because it offers many advantages over other payment methods. There is no doubt that the demand for ATM services will continue to grow in the future as more people make use of them for their everyday transactions.

But while digital transformation has altered the landscape, it poses no threat to the use of ATMs. Digital forms of payment continue to grow, but the use of cash remains relatively stable, with close to 20% of all payments in the U.S. still made with physical fiat currency.

In most cases, you use an ATM by inserting a debit card, ATM card or credit card into a slot on the machine. Regardless of where the ATM is located, it connects electronically with your bank account via the internet or phone line.

In the case of free-to-use cash machines, the card issuer pays a fee to the ATM operator for each transaction.

The most common and essential highlights are management team, product-market fit, potential market, potential growth, defensibility (some hard-to-copy elements like technology or knowhow), scalability and potential return for investors.

Can I buy my own ATM? ›

An ATM costs a few hundred dollars per month, plus the purchase cost. Most new ATMs cost between $2,000 and $4,000 to buy upfront, but the exact price may be lower or higher depending on the model and whether it's used. On top of that, there are regular maintenance tasks an ATM owner is financially responsible for.

ATMs are very profitable businesses because there is very little to no overhead expenses. You don't need employees. No store front or rental space is needed, and there is a low start up investment. The best part is you can manage your ATM business from home at your own schedule.

Small casinos see around 30-800 transactions monthly. Not only do these ATMs get a lot of traffic, surcharge fees are also typically quite high. High traffic plus high surcharge equals great profit. While casino ATMs get the most transactions of any other location, they are difficult to obtain.

Buying your own ATM is very profitable, Daniel said, and between 15 and 30 transactions a month can yield a high return. “[It's] a great secondary source of income that could equal anywhere between $20,000 and $30,000 extra per year,” he said.

Buying your own ATM can be a very profitable endeavor depending upon how many ATMs you manage and operate and how many transactions each one processes each day. Annual revenue can be in the thousands. (Business News Daily).

This means if your ATM does 3 – 4 transactions per day you could earn between $180 and up to $360 or more per month. If your ATM falls in the average usage of 6 – 7 per day, and you charged $2.50 you would earn between $15 – $17.5 per day, at $3.00 you would earn over $20 per day or between $360 – $600 per month.

Overestimate cash flow

There are many sources online which tell you that you can make $500 per month or more from each ATM. Most of the time, these estimates are much too high. My recommendation is to do your homework and count on $250-$300 of income on the higher side. $150-$200 on the low side is a safe bet.

Average bank ATM fees

Out-of-network ATM fees increased by 1.5 percent over the past year to an average of $4.66 per transaction, according to Bankrate's 2022 checking account and ATM fee study.

It is estimated that nearly one-third of U.S. consumers use an ATM once per week. The average ATM in a retail environment does about 6-10 transactions per day.

How to invest in an ATM machine? ›

The busier the location, the more withdrawals from the ATM, and the more money you make. Typically, you invest in the machine and place it in a merchant's business with an agreement to share a portion of the surcharge fee. This is one way to increase the business owner's interest in the machine.

Dividend stocks

Dividends are paid per share of stock, so the more shares you own, the higher your payout. Opportunity: Since the income from the stocks isn't related to any activity other than the initial financial investment, owning dividend-yielding stocks can be one of the most passive forms of making money.

Most often, ATM cash withdrawal limits range from $300 to $1,000 per day. Again, this is determined by the bank or credit union—there is no standard daily ATM withdrawal limit. Your personal bank ATM withdrawal limit also may depend on the types of accounts you have and your banking history.