Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) changed the face of banking forever. I remember my first "trip" to use one in 1982, two years before the demise of the $1 note. The ATM was embedded in the wall of the bank and ironically I had to line up to use it while the queues inside the bank remained remarkably small. Sure it took a while to figure out how to deposit money, and more time to fill in the envelope before depositing it than it would have taken inside, but it was a remarkable inflection point in the history of service organisations.

Almost 30 years later, on the 3rd May 2009 the Reserve Bank of Australia introduced ATM reform which included encouraging private investors to own ATM machines. It is now a market that is reportedly growing at around 11% per year and judging from the strange and varied places you find ATMs these days I'd even suggest that growth may be higher than that.

Once the domain of NCR, ATMs are now made, owned and serviced by a massive network of companies in much the same way that the vending machine industry has evolved. Most of the challenges with ATMs remain human in nature and involve maintenance, technical support, a strong stomach, rubber gloves and a good dose of bleach.

With the latest reforms open to the 50% investment allowance under the Federal Government stimulus package up to the end of next financial year it now brings a whole new meaning to community banking and also opens the door for community based government services. Regional Australia will soon recognise it and demand it.

The ability to access online government services continues to be a drive from the existing federal government along with many of the state governments but while individually our interactions with government tends to be fairly limited each year, the sheer volume of us means that life in a government service centre at the times of those life-events mean that our wait is often less than optimal.

Even recognizing that the ways in which we as citizens interact with government from a service perspective each year varies dramatically there is certainly no shortage of services that could be transacted through an ATM style offering; access to education or schooling services, obtaining eligibility for government services, address changes, registering the birth of a child, or connecting to some utility, or lodging a rebate request would be fairly common and a great start. When extended to potential business uses (B2G) the opportunities are even greater and include making payments, applications for becoming a supplier, or to process or open an account to name a few. 

In light of the comparisons that can be drawn between government and the heavily regulated nature of the banking industry within Australia, and now the RBA ATM reform, the door is well and truly open for governments to embrace a myriad of technologies and ICT enabled policies to streamline, automate and improve services and their reach, and to cut costs, deliver savings and effectively monetise its services for the benefit of their constituencies.

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