Let us now move on to SHC’s second important pillar, the self-service business.
Can a similar market consolidation be expected in self-service business as in payments?
Market consolidation is also imminent in the self-service business, although in a different way than in payment. While a provider consolidation is taking place in the payment sector, we expect ATM consolidation in the self-service market through outsourcing to specialized operating companies. The reasons for this are obvious. High ATM operating costs, no USP compared to market competitors, but a “must-have” service, which must be offered with the highest reliability, while as cost-effectively as possible. In addition, a slow but steady reduction of cash with correspondingly lower demand for ATMs is expected.
Over the past two years, we have set up operating companies in various projects, designed modular operating models, won banks for them and supported the operational outsourcing of ATMs to the operating companies. Our experience shows that consolidation and standardization can lead to high saving potentials.
In your opinion, how did the market develop in 2018 and what is the greatest potential for 2019?
From our self-service projects over the past years and from the completed and current projects in 2018, we have noticed a clear trend towards outsourcing the self-service business for banks and have successfully accompanied this trend. In the countries around Germany, this trend has started earlier. The Nordics (Sweden, Norway, Finland) were once again pioneers. The Swiss banks are currently involved and a corresponding ATM consolidation project is pending in the Netherlands. I therefore firmly believe that there will also be a noticeable change in the ATM market in Germany in the coming years.