CaixaBank to invest 500 million euros in rolling out next generation of cash machines

• The bank has signed an agreement with Fujitsu to manufacture 8,500 new terminals featuring cutting-edge technology and to innovate jointly on a global scale.
• The new machines are fitted with contactless readers capable of scanning cards, mobile phones and wearables, and all offer banknote recognition technology, among other improvements.
• The CaixaBank network, Spain's largest and the third biggest in Europe, provides service to roughly 7.5 million individuals every month.

CaixaBank is set to invest 500 million euros in rolling out the next generation of cash machines hand in hand with Fujitsu.

The bank, presided over by Chairman Isidro Fainé and CEO Gonzalo Gortázar, has commissioned Fujitsu to manufacture 8,500 new terminals, all featuring the latest technology. The machines will allow CaixaBank to offer services developed for its new Punt Groc cashpoint model, such as contactless readers not only for cards, but also mobile phones and wearable devices. The new arrivals also come with automatic banknote recognition and recycling units, improving cash availability at the cashpoints and streamlining the manual paper money loading process.

As it currently stands, CaixaBank boasts Spain's largest cashpoint network and the third largest across Europe.

Global innovation agreement to develop the latest technologies

CaixaBank and Fujitsu have also signed an agreement whereby both will drive forward innovation applied to cashpoints with the aim of implementing the most recent global technologies. The coming years will therefore see CaixaBank working hand-in-hand with Fujitsu to come up with new cashpoint services, which, thanks to the technological capabilities of the new terminals, can then be implemented immediately across the network.

CaixaBank intends to start installation of the first new generation cashpoints this year. The process will run for the next ten years, concluding in 2024. Fujitsu has already started making the new CaixaBank terminals at its facility in Málaga.

The deal between the two companies also includes related services to ensure unrivalled network availability and the best possible quality of service.

Fujitsu's president, Masami Yamamoto, is due to visit CaixaBank's headquarters in person next week to get to know the project first hand.

A network serving 7.5 million individuals every month

Cashpoints are a key piece in the relationship between customer and bank. In the last year alone, 7.5 million people a month used CaixaBank's cash machines.

The terminals provide service to both clients of CaixaBank and non-member users. A total of 1.5 million non-members of CaixaBank made use of its machines every month.

On a global scale, CaixaBank terminals carried out 560 million transactions a year. Cash withdrawals alone exceeded 32.4 billion euros a year.

CaixaBank's network is particularly noteworthy for the number of deposits made via cashpoint. Every year, users pay in 29.3 billion euros, not far off the volume of withdrawals. This is one of the reasons why the bank has decided to focus on cash deposit functionality at its cashpoints, relying on ground-breaking technologies such as banknote recognition and immediate clearing.

First cashpoint worldwide to be created with the input of bank customers

CaixaBank's new cashpoint model, Punt Groc, is the first in the world to be developed wholly by the bank with the input of actual users. When creating the machines, the bank involved more than 1,000 customers in the shared innovation process guiding and shaping all of its most advanced technological services. It is the first time ever that a financial institution has committed itself to developing its own exclusive technological model for its cashpoint network.

The main innovations for the Punt Groc machines include dual screen layout, one to handle transactions and the other to provide operational and sales support, thus providing a much more pleasant user experience with the terminal. The network also features advanced banknote recognition and direct cheque deposit technologies.

With regards to its contactless reader, CaixaBank is the world's first financial entity to add this revolutionary technology to its cashpoints, allowing customers to withdraw cash without having to insert their card. They can also use their mobile phone or wearable bracelet assuming they have TAP Visa or NFC (near field communication) functionality.

Thanks to contactless technology, withdrawing cash becomes 30% faster than with conventional methods. In 2012, the ATM Industry Association (ATMIA), the international association of the ATM sector, handed CaixaBank its award for best ATM service among European banks for its development of contactless cashpoints.

Latest advances in technology and usability

The software installed in CaixaBank's Punt Groc machines enables the menu of services that appears at the start of a transaction to be fully customised. Users can choose between more than 250 different transactions, all displayed through a style book based on the latest design and usability preferences. This suite of services was installed across the entire network during the first quarter of 2014.

The new style book includes functions exclusive to the CaixaBank network, such as the ability to personalise and control cash withdrawals. This allows users to see exactly how much money they have withdrawn from the cashpoint in a given month and configure the machine to alert them if they exceed a certain limit. Another example of the services on offer is that users can choose the size of banknote they want.

To improve usability, CaixaBank cashpoints can operate in 17 different languages, including Chinese, Russian and Arabic.

Joint development of accessible cashpoints with the European Commission

The new CaixaBank machines also feature the latest advances in accessibility, including improvements that the bank has developed within the framework of the APSIS4all project, financed by the European Commission. The new accessibility solution for the bank's cashpoints offers support functionalities for the elderly, the disabled, and users with little to no experience in using electronic devices.

These support tools include an avatar who uses sign language, high-contrast screens, large-sized text and buttons, a screen reader and keyboard browsing; all options that improve user experience with the terminal and that can prove especially useful for disabled people.

Leader in digital banking and innovation

CaixaBank is considered an international benchmark when it comes to innovation and new technologies. It has received numerous accolades, including the award for the world's most innovative bank at the Global Banking Innovation Awards, staged by the Bank Administration Institute (BAI) and Finacle, and the award for best retail bank for technology innovation in the world, granted by British publication Euromoney.

At present, the bank has a network of over 9,000 cashpoints, more than 12.4 million cards in issue, over nine million online banking customers, in excess of 4.2 million mobile banking clients and has topped ten million downloads of its applications for smartphone and tablet.