WebNMS, the software division of Zoho Corp, hopes to enhance security of automated teller machines (ATMs) by remotely monitoring them using the Internet of Things (IoT).
Embedded with electronics, software, sensors and network connectivity, the devices exchange data from ATMs with a remote server.
Multiple sensors act as physical touch points collecting and feeding data and parameters to a gateway device. The sensors collect data such as temperature, smoke, vibration, door contact and power consumption, among others, said Prabhu Ramachandran, Director of WebNMS.
The company is doing a pilot of its ATM site manager remote monitoring solution at about 10 ATMs in Mumbai, he told
Sensors driven by IoT can send an alert of even a minor vibration in a room to the remote monitoring centre to look out for any intrusion or breakage. Many ATMs do not have security personnel and these sensors will be useful in such locations. “We can eliminate human intervention wherever possible,” he said.
“In case of vandalism, we can detect and alert all stakeholders immediately. We can pick up a recording from the camera installed inside from the remote centre,” he said.
ATMs require AC with back-up power and ATMs become logistics and operating expenditure intensive. Due to a lot of outsourcing, banks do not have control over many things, including power consumption.
A small piece of hardware measures how much of electricity is consumed by each light, he said. The remote centre can monitor if the AC and lights are switched on or not. In many cases, being a tropical region, if the AC goes down, ATMs can stop working. ATMs have nearly 12 lights and two ACs. At times, a person forgets to switch on the AC and some lights. “We can correct this anomaly by switching on the AC and lights from remote location,” he said.
Analytics on energy costRamachandran said there are complaints of power theft by landlords from ATM rooms. “We can monitor over 10,000 ATMs and also do analytics on energy cost during summer and winter,” he said.
“IoT, as a technology, is evolving. We have been educating customers on this for last five years,” he said. A number of ATM operators are releasing requests for proposals now for remote monitoring of the machines, he said.
Research firm Gartner has forecast that IoT will enjoy 32.5 per cent CAGR by 2020, covering all industries, including Banking, Financial Services and Insurance.
IoT will go beyond ATMs to customer relationship, cash handling and more, he said.