starting an ATM business

[pwiz84]

I've wanted to start a business for years. I've been thinking about something simple like simply buying an ATM machine, putting it somewhere (i already have a few ideas where) and making money on transaction fees. That seems way too simple though! there must me more to it...but I hear there is huge earnings potential when you build up an entire route.

do I need any special license or permit? I'm tempted to just "do it" since I'm starting with one machine but I want to comply with the law right from the get-go. how do I go about getting one? I live in Westchester County NY if that helps.

how do I set them up/program them etc, where do I get the money from to fill the machines, and when people take money from it how do I get it back (plus the ATM fees of course)

do I need an attorney for anything? like an agreement with the venue where I put the machine?

what kind of taxes are involved (other than personal income tax)

what about insurance?

is it safe to service them myself (without an armored car service)?

I'm really not looking for a huge initial investment, I want to see if i like it. I'll buy a used machine for $2000 or so and that's about all I have for now.

sorry about the million questions at once but I have always worked "for the man" my whole life and I have zero experience in actually starting something up myself. it's a bit intimidating to be honest, but it's my life dream to be my own boss. Thank you for any help you may have!

[billbenson]

The biggest concern I would have is liability for password theft. I don't know anything about the business so I really can't more than that.

I do know someone who made an 'OK' living with bubble gum machines. It took him years to get enough of them out there to make a living though. And he's always having to deal with vandalism issues and the likes.

My personal opinion is back into a business from the other direction. Different businesses have different maximum profit levels in general. A lawncare business is generally not going to make as much money as a product sales business for example. I would spend some time researching businesses that can eventually make good money but can be started with low initial investments. They are out there.

[Harold Mansfield]

I have a friend that has an ATM company. Not sure how many machines, but apparently he now has them in a few locations. We talked about it once at a cookout last year. Here's what I learned:




do I need any special license or permit? I'm tempted to just "do it" since I'm starting with one machine but I want to comply with the law right from the get-go. how do I go about getting one? I live in Westchester County NY if that helps.
Yes, you need all kinds of licenses and you also have to have a clean criminal record as well as anyone who works for you and will be servicing the machines.


how do I set them up/program them etc, where do I get the money from to fill the machines, and when people take money from it how do I get it back (plus the ATM fees of course)
When you buy the machines you either learn, or hire a technician. There are rules and guidelines that have to be adhered to.
You fill it with your own money (or rather company money). You get your money back from the banks.


do I need an attorney for anything? like an agreement with the venue where I put the machine?
Yes, you will need an attorney because you know nothing about this business. So yes, you will need help with the legalities.
Yes, you make an agreement with the venue, usually for some kind of compensation, rent or kick back for having your machine in their space.


what kind of taxes are involved (other than personal income tax)
Get a lawyer or accountant to explain specifically what you are liable for in your state.


what about insurance?
Yes, you need insurance against damage, theft, and errors. Also anyone servicing the machines needs to be bonded.


is it safe to service them myself (without an armored car service)?
That's up to you. My friend has employees, but when he serviced them himself he was armed. From what I've seen working the graveyard shift in bars for 15 years it's usually a 2 man team in a van outfitted like an armored car, and one is always armed and watching the others back when they are servicing a machine.

I've also seen 3 men teams where one guy comes in first and acts like a customer before the other 2 come in and service the machine.

You're carrying a crap load of money. So yes, you need to have some security precautions and protocols.


I'm really not looking for a huge initial investment, I want to see if i like it. I'll buy a used machine for $2000 or so and that's about all I have for now.
You don't even have enough to buy one machine, let alone filling it or anything else. They take about $40k-$50k full.
Believe it or not, a lot of ATM's were still running Windows XP as late as early this year and are slowly being updated. A used one running old software is not going to do you any good.

Where I live a lot of places own and run their own ATM's. There are also a lot of large companies controlling this space that have been in business for decades. I'm sure there's still untapped territory somewhere, but at this point it's kind of like just getting started with pay phones. It's pretty saturated, fewer people need them, and you aren't going to break into it with no money.

[Brian Altenhofel]

Where I live a lot of places own and run their own ATM's. There are also a lot of large companies controlling this space that have been in business for decades. I'm sure there's still untapped territory somewhere, but at this point it's kind of like just getting started with pay phones. It's pretty saturated, fewer people need them, and you aren't going to break into it with no money.

Just to add - some credit card processors these days are also offering ATMs to their cash transaction heavy clients, and some of those run it for about the same rates as a credit card transactions. In those cases, it's for those customers who feel better about paying in cash - nevermind that the ATM just handled all of their information over the same network as if they had swiped their card at the register (though it will show on the bank/cc statement as an ATM withdrawal instead of a CC transaction at XYZ Jewelry).