The unit is part of a consignment of 450 ATMs purchased by HSBC as part of its ambitious UK network expansion plans.

With its modular design, the NCR Personas M Series enables HSBC to tailor the range of self-service transactions offered at the ATM according to the deployment site and changing operational needs. HSBC will increase its ATM estate by 17 per cent in 2006 - from just under 3,000 to nearly 3,500 units. They will be used to roll out a new pre-paid mobile phone top-up facility and expand its charitable giving service.

Customers of participating mobile phone operators are now able to buy extra airtime for their pay-as-you-go mobile phones at any HSBC ATM. The top-up is credited to the phone within just a few seconds, following immediate payment authorisation. Participating mobile phone operators currently include Vodafone, O2, T-Mobile, Orange and Virgin Mobile.

HSBC introduced a charity donation service at its ATMs last November to enable customers to donate to the BBC Children in Need appeal. Over 5500 individual donations, totalling £100,000, have been made in the last five months. In an effort to further extend the service, HSBC is now adding a Gift Aid facility for ATM donors, which enables customers to provide permission for charities to reclaim income tax payments on the sums donated.

HSBC is focused on enhancing its customers' experiences of its retail operations across the board. This year it will complete an extensive renewal of its 1,528-strong branch network. It is spending £400m on 50 branches in new locations and undertaking 200 refurbishments.

The bank will also complete the migration of its ATMs from the proprietary OS/2 platform to Windows XP this year using NCR APTRA Advance NDC which provides full support for web technologies such as HTML, TCP/IP and XML. This means it will be possible to feature a wider range of rich media content on the high definition Personas ATM screens quickly and easily in the future.

David Nibloe, Head of Self Service & Counters at HSBC, said: "HSBC is increasing access to its ATMs and expanding the range of transactions beyond cash dispensing to mobile phone top-up purchases and charitable donations. This is helping us to increase the levels of customer service we provide through our self-service channel."

Rachel Nash, vice president of NCR's Financial Solutions Division for UK and Ireland commented, "We have worked with HSBC for over 20 years. During this time the ATM has evolved from pure cash dispense functions to become a strategic sales, marketing and relationship-building tool in its own right. We see more transaction types coming onto the ATM in the future."