Designed for self-service technologies such as ATMs and retail self-checkouts, the solution has enabled BNZ to reduce the downtime of its ATMs by a third. Across its 450-strong ATM fleet, that equates to serving customers for an extra 20,000 hours each year.

Paul Johnson, channel manager, ATM and self-service, Bank of New Zealand, said, "With NCR Predictive Services, BNZ is nudging 99 percent availability, a figure beyond what is widely accepted in the ATM industry as 'world class'."

"That has enabled us to deliver a better service to our customers for a lower cost, while working to deliver the highest levels of service and convenience of any self-service network in New Zealand."

Via a software agent on each device, NCR Predictive Services collects more than ten times the typical amount of operational data from the network, including from individual components within each ATM, such as the card reader, receipt printer and cash dispenser.

Detailed error messages from these components, which go unseen in traditional 'break/fix' maintenance offerings, identify that a problem is likely to occur. This enables preventive action to be taken before the fault puts the machine out of service. The precise, component-level diagnosis also means that engineers are dispatched with the right parts and tools so problems are nearly always fixed first time, reducing downtime still further.

Johnson explains that, before NCR Predictive Services was deployed, every ATM that a second-line engineer was dispatched to would be out of service when the engineer arrived. "Depending on the location and the type of problem, an ATM might have been down for hours, creating a negative brand experience for maybe hundreds of our customers who would have been denied their transactions.

"Now, in about 40 percent of cases, the ATM is still up and running when the engineer arrives." That has improved the BNZ brand experience, making it easier to attract, eengage and cross-sell to customers through its ATMs.

Chris Askew, senior vice president, NCR Services, said, "The promise of consumer self-service is to enable a successful interaction every time. NCR Predictive Services is helping BNZ delight its customers with a positive, predictable experience for consumers whenever they need self-service banking."

Paul Johnson says: "NCR Predictive Services is one of the best innovations I've seen in the last fifteen years. It's a game changer. By gaining greater visibility of our self-service channel, we have established a strong competitive edge through a superior customer experience."

NCR Predictive Services is deployed in thousands of self-checkout lanes and ATMs around the world, helping companies maximize the availability of critical, customer-facing technologies and enhance the consumer experience.