Australian and New Zealand Banking Group is to roll out an ink-staining technology known as Fluiditi, to be installed in a number of its undisclosed ATMs in a bid to deter thieves.
The new technology will stain cash notes with ink if the ATM user is thought to be a thief and has proven to be an effective deterrent in 3,000 ATMs worldwide. Australian and New Zealand Bank (ANZ) will be the first Australian bank to deploy Fluiditi.
ATM attacks are of great concern to us because they disrupt services for customers and cause significant damage to property, said Tania Foster, ANZ’s head of ATMs. We believe that staining the cash, making it easy to identify as stolen, will be another strong deterrent and help to ensure our ATMs continue to operate safely and without disruption for the convenience of customers.
The introduction of Fluiditi, designed by ATM and self service company NCR Corporation, is a valuable addition to the steady advancement in ATM security, building on existing security measures such as bollards, alarms, camera surveillance and additional structural support to withstand physical force.
ANZ has a network of more than 1,900 ATMs nationwide and the Fluiditi technology has already been deployed to a number of ATMs under a pilot program over the past six months.
The theft deterrent system will be rolled out to a significant number of ANZ ATM locations, as well as a number of new ATMs being installed under a partnership arrangement in Woolworths Supermarkets, Petrol and Big W stores across Australia. The cash machines will remain undisclosed to enhance security.