Select-A-Branch helps banks promote off-premise ATMs.

 

Select-A-Branch allows any size financial institution to take their brand into hundreds of high-traffic merchant locations

King of Prussia, Pa.—For years, financial institutions, ATM manufacturers and vendors have been experimenting with ways to increase the marketing potential of off-premise ATM's. With the introduction of the Select-A-Branch ATM Network (S-A-B), those goals are finally realized.

S-A-B's patent pending technology allows an unlimited number of financial institutions to reach their cardholders throughout S-A-B's surcharge-free network of premiere locations. S-A-B ATM's immediately recognize participating institutions from the card's magnetic stripe and return to the consumer transaction screens fully branded with customer service messaging and advertising, just as if they were standing outside their local branch.

 

"Through our state-of-the-art technology, we are able to offer our participating banks and credit unions the opportunity to level the playing field between themselves and their competitors," says Daniel Gardner, President and Chief Executive Officer of Select-A-Branch.

 

"S-A-B's superior business model gives us access to the most sought after high-traffic ATM locations, which traditionally have only been available to the largest banks in a given region. Our product then provides any financial institution with the ability to offer their customers the same convenience and brand experience they would expect at their local branch, including a surcharge-free transaction, " says Gardner.

 

As consumers increasingly turn to card-based transactions and have less need to use branch locations, it is becoming more important for all financial institutions to make their brand more visible and desirable. By leveraging the drawing power of surcharge-free transactions, the S-A-B technology influences consumer behavior to seek out a Select-A-Branch ATM as a preferred means of doing business with their community-based financial institution.

 

S-A-B ATM's are currently being installed at dozens of locations, stretching from Virginia to Connecticut, including over 70 New York City McDonalds franchise locations. As one of the largest privately owned networks in Manhattan, these ATM's reside in restaurants that draw millions of customers each year.

 

"We believe that the Select-A-Branch ATM Network is a natural extension of the McDonalds franchisees' dedication to customer service," said Jim Lewis, President of Lewisfoods, one of the leading franchisees and owner of multiple locations including the McDonalds located in Times Square. "We are optimistic that as S-A-B grows, more and more of our customers will enjoy surcharge-free ATM service at our restaurants." Financial Institution participants include TD Banknorth and PNC Bank, two of the largest banks in the United States.

 

"The S-A-B model perfectly suits TD Banknorth's growth strategy," commented Susan Coward, TD Banknorth E-Banking Director. "It's a cost-effective way of getting our brand into targeted territories." PNC's SVP of Electronic Banking, James Walker, concurs. "S-A-B's New York City footprint was of particular interest to PNC and gave us a new way of better connecting with our cardholders." S-A-B demonstrated the powerful flexibility of their model by partnering with the McDonalds franchisees' incumbent ATM provider, Actors Federal Credit Union (AFCU).

 

"The Select-A-Branch business model represents a unique way to increase both our ATM revenues as well as increase the bond between the franchise locations and AFCU," commented Jeff Rodman, President of Actors Federal. "As S-A-B participant institutions drive their customers to our machines, everybody wins."

 

"Since our product is priced on a pay-per-use basis with no minimum cost commitments, our financial institution participants can finally afford to expand their ATM presence and corporate brand outside of their existing footprint," says Dan Gardner. "Now even the smallest of institutions can enjoy world-class presence."

 

As an added benefit, S-A-B provides a secure solution sure to please even the most cautious CTO's. "Our product is designed to work within the existing transaction processing infrastructure," states Daniel C. Stechow, S-A-B's Chief Operating Officer, "this makes it an extremely secure and safe environment for the consumer and the financial institution."

Select-A-Branch has strategic partnerships with Triton to deliver trusted, high quality ATM hardware and software solutions and leading EFT provider Fiserv, to deliver secure transaction processing.

S-A-B offers numerous marketing capabilities, including delivery of multiple ads that can be easily updated. "Our product has been designed to allow easy implementation of new participants and their ad campaigns," elaborated Dan Stechow, "A financial institution can be up and running on our network in under thirty days, and keep their campaigns fresh with regular updates to their screens."

 

Participating financial institutions are provided with a full array of marketing materials, a co-branded website to educate their account holders, and integration into their standard ATM locater. In addition, they can directly reach out to their cardholders by using on-screen advertising or a continuous video channel located in the "topper" panel above the ATM device.

The value of Select-A-Branch's product offering was recently recognized by the Pennsylvania State Bankers Association when they awarded S-A-B a "preferred vendor" status. This award has been granted to only 22 other vendors in the 112 year history of the organization. "The PBA was impressed by the S-A-B solution from the very first, and we have confidence it will be of benefit to banks, both Pennsylvania-based and beyond," commented Cindy Wallet, PBA Vice President of Member Relations and Administration.

About Select-A-Branch
: SAB is an ATM Independent Service Operator that seeks to grow its network in high-traffic locations. S-A-B's patent pending ATM Software Solution allows banks and credit unions to deliver a branded, surcharge-free ATM transaction to any of its customers/members at any SAB ATM, resulting in increased patronage and customer satisfaction.
Launched in 2006, SAB has offices in King of Prussia, Pa.

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