SAN ANTONIO -- Two big credit unions, one in Texas and the other in Virginia, are showing heightened interest in those high-tech mobile ATMs, making use of them for branding and operational advantage.
The $2.3 billion San Antonio FCU, for one, said last week a modernistic mobile ATM it purchased last fall is performing well on the grounds of the just-concluded San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo.
The facility reaped higher than expected transaction activity and "is giving us valuable marketing exposure," said Mark Dwyer, senior vice president and chief operating officer.
Dwyer was projecting 4,100 transactions "bringing in $325,000 in cash by the rodeo's end" as of Feb. 17.
Meanwhile, the $1.2 billion Langley FCU of Newport News, Va. said last week it had purchased one of the mobile units from Couvrette Inc. of Salem, Va. the same firm that provided a self-contained, remote control device to San Antonio FCU.
"We have already booked our new ATM for the Gloucester Daffodil Festival with other events planned in April and May," said Brett Noll, Langley's senior vice president of marketing.
Since getting its new unit delivered last month, Langley, Noll said, can now transport the device into Gloucester, Va. for the March 29-30 show gaining some branding exposure in a market where only Wells Fargo is ATM-dominant, having already deployed a similar unit.
Langley previously had an outdated mobile ATM, which needed refurbishing and lacked some of the new stand-alone features, he said. "Depending on what you add on, these new devices can run anywhere from $75,000 to $250,000 but ours is on the inexpensive side," said Noll.
Langley's new mobile ATM, he said, would provide special convenience to the CU "for multi-day festivals and shows in our Hampton Roads market and for a season that runs from March through October."
In San Antonio, during the 18-day rodeo, the Couvrette device brought in surcharge income of more than $11,000 during the first two weeks, said Dwyer, noting that at peak hours "there were patrons lined up four and five deep."
The mobile ATM is scheduled for three or four more festival-type events this year in the San Antonio-Houston markets. Two standard ATMs of SAFCU have been housed in the AT&T center with a third located in the Freeman Coliseum.
Apart from the ATMs, Jeff Farver, SAFCU president/CEO, in a press release noted that the CU "is proud to be a sponsor of the 2008 San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, which provides such a positive impact on our community through its educational and financial commitment to young people."
Dwyer said the unit it used for the rodeo "is unique in that it is easily towed with a pickup and when deployed is fully self-contained."
--jrubenscut@aol.com
