Rethinking ATM Usage in a Declining Cash Economy
Context
I led a global market research study for a client that designs and operates ATMs worldwide. They were facing a clear challenge: ATM usage was declining, especially in the U.S., and they wanted to understand why.
Their goals were twofold:
Explore how people were using cash in their daily lives and what those use cases looked like.
Test whether ATMs could evolve beyond dispensing cash—offering services like bill payment for the unbanked or even selling small items like stamps.
This was not just about functionality—it was about understanding the meaning of money and trust in a rapidly changing financial landscape.
Action
I designed a multi-phase, qualitative research study across two markets:
U.S.: Ethnographic observations with a dozen participants to see how, when, and why they still used cash.
Australia: In-depth interviews, chosen because it was a market quickly moving toward cashless payments.
The research unfolded in stages:
Exploration – uncovering the personal and cultural meaning of using cash vs. cards or digital payments.
Concept testing – evaluating ideas for expanded ATM use cases: bill pay, small-item vending, and broader service features.
Pricing sensitivity – exploring how different fee structures affected willingness to engage.
By grounding the study in real behaviors and lived experiences, I was able to dig into both the practical and emotional drivers of payment choice.
Results
The research surfaced nuanced insights:
Why people still use cash
Tipping and gratuities for service workers, babysitters, and delivery drivers.
Personal budgeting—cash helped some participants control overspending.
Local transactions at places like farmers markets, where cash carried bargaining power.
Why cash was declining
Increasing acceptance of cards and digital payments in everyday transactions.
Rising concerns about ATM safety, with stories of scams and fake card readers undermining trust.
Reaction to new ATM concepts
Unbanked participants had a strong mistrust of machines for payments, preferring in-person transactions.
Extra services like stamps were seen as mildly convenient, but not compelling—especially if higher fees were attached.
The client acted on these findings by launching a premium ATM experience: rebranded, redesigned machines placed in trusted retail environments. These machines did boost transactions in the short term, but the overall long-term trend of declining cash use persisted.
Learning
Cash has a niche role, not a broad future. While usage is declining, cash remains sticky in areas like tipping, budgeting, and informal exchanges.
Trust is everything. ATM adoption depends not only on convenience but on the perceived safety of the machine itself and the brand behind it.
Not all innovations resonate. Concepts like multi-use ATMs sounded promising but faltered because they didn’t align with how users defined trust, control, and value.
Strategic placement matters. Positioning ATMs in environments where trust is already high (banks, large retailers) helps offset negative perceptions of less reputable machines.
This project highlighted the limits of innovation in a shrinking market—sometimes research uncovers not how to reverse a trend, but how to adapt product strategy within it.