Alicia Moore's 22-years of retail experience helps lead ATM Cash Tracker, a new PFM-style product at Wells that allows users to set budgets and track monthly ATM usage on screen.
BTN: One of the major pieces of your customer-focused ATM strategy is the new ATM Cash Tracker, a personal ATM budgeting and usage tracking product. Where did the idea come from?
Moore: We brainstorm about what products and services we can deliver to help consumers during tough times. We thought there might be an easy way to help consumers track what they're doing on ATMs, where we can help them financially succeed.
Was it developed by Wells' IT team, or with the help of outside vendors?
It was developed internally, it runs on proprietary software that our tech group programs...There's programming that goes along with the [transaction] tracking tools. We created a database to pull transaction data and give customers that amount that they withdraw along with the ability to set a monthly target...Users access it at the actual ATMs. Once a user sets up a monthly [ATM usage] budget, every time he or she goes to an ATM and inserts a card and PIN the product is available. We show the user a scroll and tally showing where the user stands.
ATM Cash Tracker includes modules for spending, saving and credit. What makes ATMs a good venue to track these activities?
ATMs are where customers are getting their cash, which is still happening. While there's a lot of discussion about debit cards and use of cards at the point of sale, we continue to see cash getting used a lot. And the best place to give customers information about how they're handling their cash is at the ATM where they're actually receiving the money.
What role does the product play in your larger ATM strategy?
We view the ATM as a channel for all of our customers. The [machines] can be used to make a connection with customers, and give them relevant information on their financial situation.
Given the fast adoption of mobile devices and Web banking for transactions, what role is there for ATMs at banks in the future?
As long as we continue to bring innovation to the channel, we will continue to drive transactions at the ATM. We can also see an increase in customer satisfaction at the ATM that's connected to innovation. For example, before we swapped out the [former Wachovia] ATMs in Wachovia's footprint, the [Wachovia] customers didn't think that innovation was an important driver of satisfaction with the ATM experience. After we replaced [the Wachovia machines with higher-tech ATMs], technology at the ATM became the number three driver of satisfaction of the customer base. Customers want to see innovation in the channels that they are using.
What career path did you follow to get to your current position?
I started at Wells as a teller [22 years ago] and worked through the retail operation on my way to my current position. One of the most memorable jobs that I had during that time was working on the teller system, helping design [it]. Through that experience, I learned about customers and how to match new technology with what customers expect, with the deployment based on what their needs are, rather than just putting new technology out there.
