A UK company is seeking to set up a network of non-bank ATMs in the Republic which would charge customers £1-£1.25 (€1.27-€1.59) per withdrawal. The company would place ATMs in petrol stations, shops and even in pubs.
Mr Eamonn O'Nolan, managing director of Infocash, said he was in negotiation with one of the main banks here and believed there was room for 400 to 600 new ATMs in the Republic.
His company is one of several UK firms supplying independent, non-bank ATMs to that market. Of 4,000 ATMs installed in the UK last year, more than 3,000 were owned by non-banks.
Mr O'Nolan said his entry into the Irish market was being held up by the Director of Consumer Affairs, Ms Carmel Foley, who has argued that the Consumer Credit Act 1995 - which gives her certain powers regarding the charges which can be imposed by credit institutions - should apply to independent ATM operators.
Mr O'Nolan said the Act did not apply to his firm which, he said, was not a credit institution. Both sides are taking legal advice.
On Wednesday, Ms Foley told the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance and the Public Service that because of the "ATM deficit", organisations "which are not credit institutions are now seeking to exploit the Irish market in co- operation with some banks. These organisations typically charge £1 to £2."
Mr O'Nolan, a native of Dublin, said there was "undoubtedly considerable pent-up demand" for more ATMs in the Republic, "especially with bank branch closures and so on".
His company in the UK provides a service whereby a retailer buys an ATM for about £6,000, which may then be filled with notes taken in by the retailer in the course of his or her business. The charge imposed for withdrawals from the ATM is then shared between the retailer and Infocash. Mr O'Nolan said benefits include the retailer saving on bank lodgement charges and increased security for persons making withdrawals.
He said 300 to 400 withdrawals per month can make a machine viable, whereas a bank-operated machine can require "many times that amount" of transactions in order to be viable.
The machines would most likely be placed in busy outlets in both rural and urban areas which were distant from a bank ATM.
Mr O'Nolan set up his company in October 1999 and now has 320 machines in operation in the UK. He is one of a number of independent ATM operators in the UK, some of whom are believed to be interested in the Irish market. One, ATM Express, which operates under the name the Green Machine, started trading in February 2001 and aims to deploy 400 ATMs by the end of this year. It is backed by Mr Dermot Desmond's International Investment Underwriters.
Ms Foley, in her remarks to the Oireachtas Committee, said banks had not invested in alternative infrastructure, such as ATMs, which might help compensate for branch closures and the ending of certain across-the-counter services.
Ireland had the lowest number of ATMs per capita in Europe, she said. She believes banks should provide more ATMs for their customers. ATM withdrawal charges approved by the director range from 17p to about 22p.
