Banking plays a significant role in the economy of any country. Nowadays, almost everyone uses various banking facilities like online payments, debit cards, etc to do daily chores.

ATMs are one such and critical banking facility. ATM means an Automated Teller machine and is used to withdraw cash. Since many people use ATMs, starting an ATM business or taking an ATM franchise is very profitable, and a person can make a lot of money from it.

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In this article, we will discuss a proper business plan for the ATM business in detail. So a lot to know, a lot to discuss, and without wasting time, let us begin.

How to earn from an ATM Franchise (business)?

There are a lot of ways of earning from an ATM business. Primarily you will earn from the following ways:

#1 Transaction fees

#2 Service charges (Bank charges ATM service charges from customers on an annual basis)

#3 Currency conversion charges

#4 International card charges

Benefits of Starting an ATM Business

Opening an ATM business is a great idea for a sideline or full-time enterprise. Consumers are always in need of cash, and they don’t have to spend much time searching for a place to find it. This business also provides passive income. Whether you’re interested in running a single machine or a network of machines, there are several steps you should take to get started. Keep reading to learn more about these important considerations.

One of the biggest advantages of running an ATM business is that it can generate revenue almost immediately. Unlike a retail business, which requires a physical location, an ATM can be located anywhere. An ATM can also be placed within a shopping mall or other retail establishment. An ATM can also be installed in a commercial building. An ATM can also be placed inside a retail location, and this will provide a high level of customer convenience.

The cost of setting up an ATM business can be minimal, and it can be run from home. The only cost that the owner will incur is the initial investment of the equipment, insurance, and rent. However, it is recommended that the owner of an ATM should choose the location of the ATM business. Choosing a location will affect the revenue of the ATM, and it is better to consider locations outside of the city. If you want to start an ATM business in a mall, it is best to look for a location with high traffic.

An ATM franchise requires only a small amount of money to get started, including a $60,000 minimum investment and a $25,000 franchise fee. The cost of an ATM is low as it involves very little overhead and no employees. The money generated is split three ways. If you are looking for a lucrative atm franchise, you should make sure to keep your personal finances separate. A successful ATM franchise will have a professional image.

Business Plan to start an ATM business

In this business plan, we will discuss 5 things that you should follow for starting an ATM business which is as follows:

#1 Analyse your competitors

Analysing competitors is the first and the most important step of starting a business. It is essential to analyse competitors because no one will use your ATM if its transaction fees are more than the competitors, and transaction fees will be your major chunk of income, so you must analyse competitors.

#2 Estimate the cost of cash withdrawal business 

After analysing competitors, you have to properly estimate your fixed and fluctuating costs. You will need an ATM machine, air conditioner. Watchman, land and building to start this business. After that, you have to bear the electricity bill, cash, rent cost and watchman salary monthly. So estimate it accordingly.

You can buy a good ATM machine for about $15,000 in the United States, and you can easily start an ATM business in an area of about 30 to 60 square feet.

#3 Fulfill Legal formalities for ATM business

After estimating cost and analysing competitors, if you can start a profitable ATM business, do not wait and fulfil all the legal and other formalities. Legal formalities differ from state to state, so you need to fulfil them accordingly.

#4 Arrange funds for ATM business

Now you need to arrange funds for the resources. It is always recommended to use an investor’s fund instead of using your own money to start an ATM business because it is risky and involves the risk of robbery.

If you did not find any investor, make sure your business is insured to decrease the magnitude of risks.

#5 Do proper advertising and branding

Advertise your ATM business on various social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. These platforms allow you to serve targeted ads to people near your area, which helps you achieve initial growth in your ATM business.

After advertising, give the best services at fewer charges to them so that they will never go to others and become loyal towards your ATM machine.

Create a business website on your brand name to promote and collect the feedback of customers.

Profits in the ATM business

Let us talk about profits and primarily transaction fees in the ATM business because it will be the major chunk of your profits.

Before calculating the transaction fees, you need to consider many factors, and transaction fees should be different for different areas. 

For example, if your ATM machine is in a remote area, you can charge high transaction fees. On the other hand, if it is in a crowded area, then you should charge fewer transaction fees to survive in the market.

If you play wisely, you can easily make a profit of about $7,000 per annum per ATM machine in the first year. Afterwards, your services will decide the future of your business.

How to gather initial users of ATM machine

There are primarily two ways to gather initial users of the ATM machine, which are:

#1 Set an ATM machine in a remote area

If you set up the ATM machine in a remote area with no or very few competitors, then people will definitely use your ATM machine because of a lack of choices. Now, initially, you should charge fewer fees in remote areas because it will create a good image of your ATM in the customer’s mind, which is very good for your business in the long term.

#2 Charge very little or no fees

If you set up your ATM machine in city areas with a lot of competitors, then you should charge very little or no transaction fees to increase initial customers on both domestic and international transactions. It also creates a nice image in the customer’s mind, which is very good for the business.

How much cash should be stored in the ATM machine?

If you set up your ATM machine in remote areas or villages, then, in my opinion, $7,000-$20,000 at a time is sufficient. 

On the other hand,, if you set it up in a posh area of California, you should keep about $70,000-$1,00,000 in it.

Summary

Now let us summarise the whole article. An ATM business is profitable because it provides the service of converting digital money into paper money and a lot of people use paper money,

You can earn money by charging transaction fees from customers, and it is going to be the major chunk of your income. Apart from that, you also earn from debit and credit cards.

For gathering initial customers, you should either set up an ATM machine in a remote area or charge fewer transaction fees. You should keep your services improving in the long term ng if you want to make money from this business.

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