The multivendor software platform, dubbed ATMFutura, has been developed by payments processor SIX on behalf of the country's banks in an effort to provide a consistent user experience at the cash machine.

SIX says the common standard - which will replace up to 20 different slef-service options from four different manufacturers - will improve reliability and save costs in a field in which it is no longer possible for the banks to differentiate themselves.

New functions that until today have only worked at individual banks will be possible with ATMfutura across the entire bank ATM network, says SIX. These include cash withdrawals and deposits at the ATM using the QR code via smartphone; the free selection of accounts when making cash withdrawals; talking ATMs for the visually impaired, and the choice of individual bank note denominations.

The first cash dispenser equipped with the new software has gone into pilot operation at a Credit Suisse branch in Zurich. The next step will entail a switchover of machines combining deposit/withdrawal functions, enabling users to make deposits into selected accounts, including those demoniated in euros.

UBS will be the second bank to enter the new ATM into pilot operation, according to a different time frame.

Florence Schnydrig Moser, head of products & investment services, at Credit Suisse comments: "Thanks to the standard user interface, all customers will have a consistent and enjoyable user experience at every ATM, irrespective of which bank it is being operated by."

She says that in the future, ATMFutura will also relieve banks of the burden of monitoring and managing their machines, providing a centralised outsourced function covering the complete value chain, from evaluating locations, installing, maintaining and disposing of ATMs, and refilling them with cash.