Most ATM users in it only for the money

ARLINGTON, Va. – Seventy-seven percent of automated teller machine (ATM) users have told surveyors that they are primarily interested in the money the ATM offers, which might explain why only 5% of the nation’s over 320,000 ATM have been outfitted to be able to sell stamps as well as other products, according to a story in the Sarasota Herald Tribune. About 5% of the ATMs in the U.S. are Web-enabled to permit Internet banking and other services, the paper said. Some ATM operators say they plan to add Web services in the next two years, but most do not. ATM programmers have researched how to get machines to sell such items as money orders, airline tickets, museum passes, prepaid phone cards and theme park books, the paper reported. But a recent study found that 77% of all ATM transactions are cash withdrawals, followed by balance inquiries, deposits and transfers.