Almost two-thirds of financial institutions expect their ATM networks to grow, but far fewer expect the ATM channel to become a more important part of their business, according to the 2018 ATM and self-service software trends survey from KAL ATM Software.

The survey of 470 financial institutions, ATM vendors, and ATM service providers and processors found that only 56% expected ATMs to increase in importance and do more; far more (72%) said the same thing in 2017. Nonetheless, 65% of the respondents this year said they planned to increase their ATM counts. About a quarter had no plans to change the number of ATMs, and 10% planned to decrease their ATM counts.

"There is every reason to believe that this useful and durable device will continue to break new ground as a banking channel for as long as consumers continue to seek convenience, utility and a personalized touch from banking services," the survey report said.