"You have to change the way you use cash yes or yes." That was one of the commandments that the Central Bank lowered since the beginning of the Macrista administration.
In this context, one of the initiatives launched by the monetary authority was to guarantee the installation of ATMs outside of bank branches (kiosks, service stations, pharmacies, supermarkets), so that Argentines have more readily available of cash.
In this way, it would be easier for them to withdraw their salaries little by little, throughout the month, and thus they would leave aside the habit of concentrating their extractions in the first days. In addition, this habit change would result in greater security and lower operating costs linked to the movement of cash.
Given the delays in its implementation, other companies went to the ring and began to offer the possibility of withdrawing cash through the debit card. Among them, collection networks were recorded: according to CAECEIS, the chamber that represents the sector, these companies already serve more than 20 million people per month for the payment of services in the more than 15,000 positions they have throughout the country. .
This, of course, has been reflected in the use of plastics for this purpose. So much so that in just one year it has quintupled, largely due to this facility to bring cash to millions of Argentines.
Consulted by iProUP, from Rapipago they put numbers to the subject:
- Debit card operations skyrocketed from $ 700 million (March 2018) to $ 3,600 million
- Of that total (some 800,000 monthly users) 30% of operations is for cash withdrawal
Visa and MasterCard were not left behind. They allied with supermarkets, service stations, pharmacy chains and other businesses to propose the same through the Extra Cash and Cash Back brands, respectively.
According to Prisma Medios de Pago, Extra Cash grew 40% in number of transactions and 60% in amounts March versus March (2019 vs 2018).
These advances also reveal another reality: Argentina is far behind in the density of ATMs. It hardly has 60 machines per 100,000 people, while Brazil has almost double and Uruguay 50% more, according to a World Bank study.
The BCRA estimates that for every 10 localities across the country, two do not even have a single terminal, so its inhabitants are forced to move to neighboring cities to extract money.
According to experts, at least 50,000 more teams are needed to cover the territory. This figure turns out to be three times higher than that presented by the current reality, even considering the two networks operating in the country and totaling 16,000 ATMs (Link, 9,200, Banelco, 7,200).
In the last months, and before the arrival of a global player, both firms hurried the installation of extrabanking ATMs in different shops that, by the way, can buy their own terminal and obtain extra income in commissions for each operation.
This great potential for growth is what encouraged the company Odyssey Group to bring Argentina to Octagon. It is an independent network to the banking systems that will install its equipment in different types of establishments -small, medium and large-, with additional functions to those of traditional terminals.
He asks in any case is why, with a risk country through the clouds and a dollar so uncertain, the firm accelerates its strategic plan in the country. The answer comes from Sebastian Ponceliz, CEO of the firm: "It is a market in geometric expansion."
The executive assures that what happened with the exchange rate and the price index have not modified the expansion plans.
"Commissions accompany the value of the dollar and inflation increases the volume of transactions," explains Ponceliz, who also highlights the fact that "you are facing a market with a scarce supply of ATMs."
The giants prepare
The first of the companies that started bringing terminals to the stores was Link, under the brand name Cashiers Express. In fact, it has already deployed about 300 and hopes to end the year with 500 operational units.
"The investment in the purchase of the ATM and the initial installation is approximately US $ 7,500. It is recovered in just six months, considering the savings of the transport of flows and the income from the commissions of operations", explains iProUP Jorge Larravide, commercial manager of Link.
For its part, Valeria Melchior, Product Manager of the processing division of Prism Means of Payment, points out to this medium that Banelco is preparing its own service, which will be launched "in the short term".
According to the executive, the merchant obtains several advantages, such as "providing a highly valued service to attract a larger clientele and reduce the costs associated with the transfer of funds, since he can deposit in the same ATM the cash he collects from his daily sales. "
"The recharge is done by the trade, this is the main attraction, since it stops incurring in the cost of transporting the cash flow, and all the cash from the cashier places it directly in the ATM," says Link's executive.
Melchior emphasizes that "the business owners of these units may or may not charge a commission to the user", in addition to the rate they will receive for each transaction made.
"Almost all of the people (85%) operate for free, either because they have a salary plan, are retired or pensioned or have a social plan, they will continue to do so without cost in an express cashier, but the business still receives a commission for having 'attended' to the bank's client, "Larravide explains.
The executive assures that there are several models available, but they are "simple" terminals that allow for fewer transactions compared to the banking equipment that has other modules and increases their value.
"For example, they do not have the recognition of banknotes without enveloping, front and back checks." The most expensive, which is the recycling ATM, pays the extractions with the money that he recognized through deposits, "he adds.
Among the operations carried out by the terminals, Melchior states: "Initially they will only be available for extracting and checking balance, by entering the card and the password." Express Cashiers also offer these two characteristics, since, according to Larravide, "they represent almost 70% of the total transactions of a bank ATM".
The third in discord
In addition to the expansion plans of the existing firms, there is another player who finishes his arrival in the country: Octagon, an extrabanking network belonging to Odyssey Group, a company founded by the Argentine Sebastian Ponceliz, who has been living in Florida for 12 years, in the United States.
"We are about to end the connection with the brands and close the agreements, we will start installing the new ATMs in the middle of the year," the executive said in a dialogue with iProUP.
It also confirms that it is in contact with companies, pharmacies, supermarkets, wholesalers, exchange houses and service stations, among other businesses in Argentina. So far, they sold more than 1,200 units, of which they expect to install most this year.
The company will work with a local administrator bank: Interfinanzas, an entity in which Ángelo Calcaterra, president Macri's cousin, sold his 25% stake. Odyssey has been in the process of buying shares for almost a year.
The disbursement to acquire one of these equipment will be between US $ 8,500 and US $ 10,500 plus VAT, plus US $ 1,500 of installation cost. From the company they assure that the recovery of the investment is in a year.
In addition to "unloading" the cash, these teams have "free pricing, so the owner of the place may decide the commission he or she considers", remarks the CEO of this firm with a presence in the US, Mexico, Italy, Colombia, Tunisia , Chile and Brazil.
On the other hand, Ponceliz remarks that these ATMs are a "platform". While the basic model - called "Sirius I" - will only allow you to withdraw cash and check balances, the more advanced -Sirius II- will be adding features.
"We are going to incorporate other features, such as operations with bitcoins and other virtual currencies, granting microloans, selling insurance, issuing tickets and extracting dollars, we have agreements with 100% digital banks," confirms the Odyssey Group executive.
In effect, virtual currencies are a strong bet of Octagon: it has its own currency that it is using as a way to finance its international expansion.
This is MoneyFi, a platform for international transfers linked to the currency "Nemoo", which will be integrated into the global ATM network Oddisey Group. It will also have an application that will work as a virtual wallet to make payments and transfers with virtual currencies.
The first with Bitcoin
The American company Athena is the only one that offers ATMs in Argentina to withdraw money or buy digital coins. So far, they have 10 terminals, distributed in Federal Capital and Conurbano.
"To buy coins, we enter pesos and the cashier dispenses Bitcoin and other currencies, and to withdraw pesos, cryptocurrencies are sent," says Matías Goldenhörn, Athena's director of Operations for Latin America, in dialogue with iProUP.
In effect, users should only insert banknotes that the team recognizes to be able to buy their cryptoactives. There will be a ticket with a QR code that can be read with a digital coin wallet to carry out the accreditation.
The merchants, in this case, should not buy the equipment: Athena pays them a fixed rent -whose value depends on the location and area of the business, among other factors- to install it and ensures profits from the first month.
"Our ATMs are operated by us, because it is complex for the business to work well for the locals.In addition to the rent, the businesses have an extra traffic of people that would not pass by if the ATM was not in. The machine is a destination in himself, "explains Goldenhörn.
These teams carry out between 300 and 400 monthly operations each, according to their "degree of maturation", which could take six months to reach. And the company is responsible for recharging the machines with tickets.
Athena expects to add another 15 ATMs, mainly in cities of the Interior, where they analyze installing smaller terminals to achieve greater capillarity.
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