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First it was human tellers who got the boot. Now, their automated replacements aren’t cost-effective enough for profit-churning banks. Royal Bank is considering a more lucrative option for low-traffic areas where transaction fees don’t make profits: white-label-type machines of their own.
But white-label machines are not destined to be a hit with the public, since they cost an average of $1.50 on top of a mandatory Interac fee per withdrawal.
Bank spokesperson Jeff Keay admits that scaling back ABM service is an inconvenience to customers, but says the bank has “to do what makes sense economically.”
CIBC is also reviewing its network of off-premises kiosks.
Spokesperson Joe Heim says ABMs must rack up 4,000 transactions per month to be viable.
CIBC operates its own white-label machines at 200 locations where full ABMs aren’t getting enough hits.
