OTTAWA, Canada – The Department of Finance Canada is consideringwhether to mandate financial institutions allow customers ormembers of other financial institutions to make deposits throughtheir automated tellers. The goal would be to help level thecompetitive playing field between larger and smaller institutions.“ATM full functionality would enable individuals to conduct thefull range of banking activities (e.g. deposits, withdrawals, billpayments, etc.) at any banking machine of their choice, regardlessof institution or location,” the Department wrote in a response toa series of government hearings about the issue. Advocates of fullfunctionality of ATMs as a means of overcoming barriers tocompetition in banking raised the issue during government hearings.They argued that full functionality would enhance competition andprovide consumers with a wider range of choices for their ATMneeds, no matter how big the bank or credit union.