The National Cash Register Corporation, which has been aroundsince 1884, is responsible for inventing the first mechanical cashregister and the commercialization of the first barcode scanners in1974, but keeping up with today's technology might not be payingoff.

The Duluth, Ga.-based company is the world's largest ATMproducer, but according to a new report by Spruce Point Capital, ahedge fund known for its short-selling research, NCR isn'tkeeping up with the new technology of e-payments. The company hasstruggled amid softness in demand from retail customers, many ofwhom are turning away from traditional point-of-sale technology andtoward mobile-payment devices.

NCR reported in April that its diluted earnings per share fell26%, to 23 cents, in the first quarter, although revenues slid only3%, to $1.48 billion.

The company has a market value of nearly $5 billion. NCR hasbeen under pressure by shareholders to improve their performance bydeveloping and acquiring high-margin software such as cloud, otherapplications and services.

“It is our goalto become more of a software and SaaS company,” NCR'sChief Information Officer Bill VanCuren stated. “Right now we arein the Top 50 software companies in the world.”

Recently, Anheuser-Busch Employees' Credit Union began offeringonline and mobile banking solutions from Digital Insight, an NCRcompany.

Anheuser-Busch Employees Credit Union will offer DigitalInsight's suite of SaaS solutions including online banking and iOS,and Android mobile and tablet banking. The credit union alreadyoffers other customer experiences through NCR software andtechnology, including video banking services through NCRInteractive Teller.

“We are excited about the omni-channel experience that NCRoffers,” Calvin Curdt, vice president, information systems of the$1.5 billion asset Anheuser-Busch Employees' Credit Union said.“Our members expect a seamless experience across all channels. NCR,with Digital Insight, is the only vendor who can unlock thatconsistent experience for our members.

In the 90s, NCR struggled to keep up with the growing computermarket and was forced to reduce costs by trying to cut itswork force by 7,500 people. They also reduced its worldwide workforce of 51,000 people by as much as 15%.

NCR stock has fallen 11% in the past 12 months, underperformingthe S&P 500 index, and is trading slightly below where it was10 years ago. The stock's underperformance has also attractedactivist investor Jana Partners LLC, which in February disclosed a7% passive stake.

Originally called National Cash Register Company, NCR was ownedfor a time in the 1990s by AT&T Inc. In2007, NCR spun off its Teradata computing business toshareholders. Today, that company has a $6.3 billion market value.Recently NCR announced they are moving their headquarters into anew, $260 million home near Georgia Tech in Atlanta.

A full sale of the company has also been mentioned, but many inthe know say that is a less likely outcome.

“We're still looking at strategic alternatives and evaluatingopportunities to divest non-core businesses,” Nuti said accordingto a transcript of the company's fourth quarter earnings report onSeeking Alpha. “That's underway, so no major change there. Andwe'll continue to look at that throughout the year and come back toyou at some point when we have more definitive follow up.”