Friday, March 29, 2024

Aussie firm touts wireless communications system for ATMs

By Edd K. Usman

An Australian IT company has entered the Philippine market, offering a wireless M2M (machine-to-machine) communication platform for banks and their automated teller machines (ATMs).

3C Wireless vice president for Asia Robert Huddlestone shows his company's wireless router for use in ATMs. At left is 3C Wireless VP Ted Marr. They are introducing to the country their 3C Secure Network platform
3C Wireless vice president for Asia Robert Huddlestone shows his company’s wireless router for use in ATMs. At left is 3C Wireless VP Ted Marr. They are introducing to the country their 3C Secure Network platform

3C Wireless, described as “a global M2M financial solution expert,” is targeting Filipinos who are still “unbanked,” meaning people with no bank accounts at all, to achieve financial inclusion.

Two of the tech firm’s officials, Ted Marr and Robert Huddlestone, were in the country recently to promote and emphasize their 3C Secure Network (3CSN) platform’s ease of installation.

With the setup lasting only a few minutes for every machine, an ATM can be activated without the need to change the bank’s internal configuration. With two SIM cards, if the primary SIM loses signal, the secondary SIM can be made to operate quickly instead.

Huddlestone and Marr discussed 3C Wireless’s entry into the Philippines as they introduced the platform that combines wireless technology in ATMs.

Huddlestone assured that 3C Wireless’s device has better security for banks because connection is made through their corporate infrastructure. No communication from any outside device or entity is allowed, he said.

“So, instead of going over the internet, they go over a direct path from the cell tower to the bank’s data center and that’s a private path. So, they can’t be intercepted. You can’t go to these devices because they go through a completely separate path than the normal cellphone traffic,” said Huddlestone.

He revealed that they are now testing the 3CSN with four banks and they are talking to three others.

The device allows banks to get closer to people with no banking access, said Huddlestone. They said 3CSN features “Connect Live” technologies, ensuring that an ATM?s network connection works 100 percent all the time.

Noting that the Philippines is an archipelago that has attendant challenges, Marr said this “makes it difficult to provide easy access to financial products and services.?

?But by being able to connect ATMs wirelessly in a secure, fast and reliable manner, we are able to reach many Filipinos spread across the 7,107 islands,” he said.

The company said unbanked Filipinos are missing a lot of opportunities if they have no access to financial products and services, noting access is very important as it catalyzes economic development and fosters inclusive growth.

With the World Bank saying that nearly 70 percent of the over 100 million Filipinos have no bank accounts, 3C Wireless said it is eyeing to introduce more ATMs in the country. In comparison, the global average for unbanked people is 38 percent.

Marr agreed that people who have no bank accounts are like “non-entities” — they are not existing as far as banks are concerned: they cannot secure loan, they cannot withdraw money, etc.

The executives expressed confidence their platform would be able to make banks deploy more ATMs in remote areas using wireless connection.

About 99 percent of the country’s ATMs use copper wires to connect online. But with copper wires, Marr said a bank needs to dig the ground or erect posts for ATM connection.

Their company sees room for many more ATMs in the country, citing statistics the Philippines only has 180 ATMs for every one million, a stark contrast to the 400 to 500 million ATMs per million global average.

Partnering with NCR Corporation, the biggest manufacturer of ATMs in the country, 3C Wireless is eyeing a 51-percent share of the market.

Subscribe

- Advertisement -spot_img

RELEVANT STORIES

spot_img

LATEST

- Advertisement -spot_img