Task Transactions wins big ATM contract

Stephen Ballantyne

Friday 30th January 2004

An Auckland company has scored an important sale that could change the public face of banking in this country.

Task Transactions has succeeded in persuading National Bank to buy automatic teller machines made by European banking machinery giant Wincor Nixdorf, breaking the de facto monopoly on ATMs held by NCR for many years.

The deal is the result of work done by Task Logistics, one of Task Transactions' three business arms. The other lines of business handled by Task's 45 employees include point-of-sale service station equipment, financing and secure messaging systems.

Task's first step was to win the tender put out by National Bank for software to link the bank's computers to ATM machines. Task, which has an exclusive distribution agreement with German-based Wincor Nixdorf, won that tender against tough opposition but then had to face an agonising wait after National Bank was sold to ANZ Bank late last year.

Doubt as to whether National Bank's new owners would go through with the deal finally ended when sign -off took place on Christmas Eve.

National Bank's next tender was for ATMs, normally a foregone conclusion in New Zealand, where NCR has 99% of the ATM market.

"We'd secured the software solution with a Wincor Nixdorf platform," Task chief operating officer Greg Jones said.

"Then we pitched for the ATM hardware tender and won that too."

"These Wincor Nixdorf machines incorporate all the latest technology," Barry Dow, Task's chief executive, said.

"They're web-enabled and enormously flexible, and they're the first in the world to comply with both the latest standards for encryption and for electronic card handling."

Ten of the machines, each weighing 800kg, are being flown in for immediate installation, with another 10 to come.

"Subject to the performance of the initial machines, we would expect to get our fair share of the ATM market," says Dow. "And it seems National Bank has been sending out updates on the progress of the project to all the other banks."

"It's fair to say the other banks are looking very closely at what happens," Jones said.

"Historically, NCR has supplied the hardware and their proprietary software. We've now provided the banks with the means to escape that monopoly by providing alternative hardware and software at more realistic prices."

The Wincor Nixdorf distributorship is plainly a valuable asset for Task Transactions although the ATM deal is the one most likely to produce effects that will be immediately visible to everyone who uses an ATM, the company also recently concluded a deal with Foodstuffs to supply 600 point of sale systems to Pack 'n Save and New World supermarkets in the Wellington region.

Eventually Task hopes to introduce other sophisticated machinery to the New Zealand market, including smart ATMs that can reissue notes deposited by customers, thereby reducing the need for frequent restocking and freeing more cash for circulation.

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