Richard Higgins’ family has owned numerous retail stores since 2000. Having been an early adopter of non-banking ATMs, Richard started working with YourCash in the early 2000’s and soon realised that the benefits of having a cash service exceeded his expectations. With increased footfall, a surge in basket spend and a significant reduction in banking fees, the business now operates three ATMs with another in the pipeline.
Richard Higgins and his family have been operating retail stores since 2000 and have been through several changes to their business since starting out. They currently operate three stores and have plans to open a fourth store within the next year.
Richard started working with YourCash in the early 2000’s when non-banking ATMs were still new to the marketplace. “The reason we looked at an ATM at the time was that it was a new concept to have a cash machine in your store, it also meant that we could have another revenue stream from the surcharge,” Richard explains. Since then, however, YourCash has successfully converted to free-to-use ATMs in the majority of their locations, including Richard’s business.
YourCash originally provided Richard’s business with a self-fill surcharge ATM, ensuring that the proposition was right for him. As his retail estate grew and the ATM landscape changed, YourCash moved Richard to a free-to-use proposition which generally generates higher transaction levels. YourCash also installed a through-the-wall ATM in the business’ third location.
Although Richard’s primary aim was to have a new service in his store, he soon realised the other benefits an ATM can bring. “We had a self-fill machine from the beginning and immediately saw that our banking charges were significantly, very significantly reduced. It’s the cash deposits that they [the banks] charge you for and as a result of the self-fill machines, we don’t really have any cash deposits anymore.”
After seeing this success replicated in some of his other stores, Richard decided to approach YourCash about the possibility of installing a through-the-wall machine in a new store. “We are very selective of the sites we choose for one of our stores. Ideally they are next to main road which has a lot of both road and foot traffic. An external machine has a lot more presence and grabs the attention of passers-by.” When we told Richard that on average, 77% of ATM users go on to spend in store, he admitted that “it doesn’t surprise me at all, the ATM definitely causes people to spend here. Once they stop to use the ATM, they see how great the store is and then decide that this will be the local store they choose. It drives additional and repeat business in that sense.”
When asked how customers feel about the ATMs, Richard replied “we have ATMs in locations where people would have to travel miles to get access to their cash, so they really value having a cash machine on-site. One time we had a BT fault which affected the phone lines in the whole area and all that the customers were concerned about was when the ATM would be operational again.” Faults are rare though, as Richard says “the service from YourCash has been first class, any minor issues we’ve had have always been resolved on the same day, usually over the phone.”
In all, Richard is very happy with YourCash as his ATM provider: “I would definitely recommend YourCash – since we’ve been working with them our banking charges have been near enough wiped out, basket spend at our stores has definitely increased and the ATM generates more business for us. We are currently working on plans to open a new store and YourCash are already involved in those plans – you can’t fault the service they offer.”