Touch screen Auto Teller Machines (ATMs) that deliver branch banking services and that use identification such as fingerprints rather than cards are set to be launched into the African market.

Developed by global consumer transaction technologies firm NCR and dubbed the ‘APTRA interactive teller’, the interactive ATM allows banking customers to perform up to 95% of their usual transactions.

NCR and its exclusive distributor Bytes Managed Solutions have showcased the tellers at the ATMIA "Emerging New Africa" show in South Africa.

Identification documents and fingerprint scans are required by the machines, while each transaction involves customers signing on a scanner in order to confirm authorisation of the transaction.

The ATM’s have already been rolled out at various locations across the Middle East with company officials adding that there has been considerable interest in South Africa and the rest of the continent.

“There may be initial issues like bandwidth but the key thing is the adoption of technology, this helps the banks migrate 40% of their customers to a channel like this then that is a significant incentive for the banks,” says Javed Anjum, branch solutions manager, Middle East and Africa.

Anjum believes that while the technology may initially be rolled out in urban centres, it is only a matter of time before they start appearing in rural locations.

The ability to place an APTRA teller in a specific location can save a bank from opening and staffing a branch in that area while at the same time offering the clients in that region a high level of service.

“By deploying a device like this it shrinks the whole thing into one small 25 square feet space. You can imagine the savings this allows,” continues Anjum.

An internal study done by NCR shows that the implementation of NCR's interactive video technology can result in a 33% reduction in transaction time and 40% savings for the cost-per-transaction, as compared with a branch teller transaction.

“We already have 52 customers live with 300 units live and they have found that the transaction time between these units and branch staff is much faster with the interactive units,” says Anjum.

"Bank branches remain an important selling tool and revenue driver for financial institutions, but they are costly and make it difficult for banks to expand their footprint. NCR APTRA Interactive Teller is a solution to the challenges around expansion and provision of banking services to the unbanked populations in rural areas, helping banks to augment their branch footprint, deliver teller services to underserved areas and provide their branch promises," says Constantinos Koudounias, director of AMEA marketing, NCR Corporation.

The use of the call centre tellers lends itself to unique customisation depending on the customer’s preferences and requirements, say company officials.

In Saudi Arabia one of NCR’s clients has already requested that female tellers be available to their female clients. In an African context this can be tailored to not only gender and religion but also language.