ATMIA has issued a position paper urging payment networks to work collaboratively with ATM deployers to retain open market flexibility in making routing choices.
EMV migration is more complex in the United States where multiple networks exist and further confusion has resulted from court rulings on the Durbin Amendment. ATMIA retained Tremont Capital Group, Inc. to conduct a thorough analysis of routing choices.
"In order to allow ATM owners to survive and maintain the scale of their existing networks, which also provide maximum convenience for consumers, they must be allowed to manage transaction processing effectively. Without that ability, the livelihood of the ATM industry will be severely and negatively impacted," said David Tente, U.S. Executive Director of ATMIA.
The central issue involves "off-us" transactions, that is, where the card issuer and the ATM owner are not the same. These transactions require a network to switch the transaction. Under the current EMV implementation proposal, ATM deployers would forfeit all choice and flexibility in routing these off-us transactions. The consequences for ATM deployers are not only decreased income, but their inability to support a portion of the world's one million ATM locations, resulting in fewer choices for consumers.
Time is running out for the payments industry to accommodate multiple routing on debit cards for point of sale transactions and the same solution should extend to the ATM industry.