ATM Business For Sale, ATM Portfolio For Sale, & ATM Route For Sale: Geography

If you are attempting to sell your ATM business, ATM route, or ATM portfolio, you should be cognizant of the drivers that buyers assess to determine valuation. This holds true for all sellers of all types of opportunities. However, when it comes to ATM properties, you should know in most cases the first thing every buyer is going to evaluate is the geography of the ATM machines.

Why?

There are typically 2 types of ATM business buyers (2 species if you will). Type A is the “new to the industry ATM buyer”. This buyer typically has not owned, operated, or placed an ATM machine before . The second type of ATM business buyer, or Type B, is an experienced ATM operator, often an owner of an ATM ISO (Independent Sales Organization), in either case, someone with experience in the ATM industry and who most likely owns and operates an ongoing ATM concern.

For both types of ATM business buyers, the location of the machines is critical, and most likely the first attribute of the ATM business, ATM portfolio, or ATM route that they will assess. (I must qualify this with one caveat, and that is that the revenue model I’m presupposing here is a surcharge model, not an interchange only model. When purchasing an ATM business, ATM portfolio, or ATM route where the revenue model is interchange only (meaning the merchant owns the machine, not you, and therefore the merchant gets the surcharge revenue-and you only placed the machine, and therefore only receive the interchange revenue, or processing revenue), it doesn’t really matter, as a practical matter, where the ATM machines are located). That being said, for the Type A and Type B buyer, the location of the ATM machines is of the utmost importance. For the Type A buyer, getting into the business for the first time, they are going to want to find an ATM business, ATM route, or ATM portfolio that is located close by to where they live, as they will most likely be servicing (cash loading and maintenance) the ATM machines themselves. For the Type B buyer, they are going to want to purchase an ATM business, ATM route, or ATM portfolio in an area where they either already have existing operations, and therefore will benefit from economies of scale, or, they will be looking to penetrate a certain area where they are looking to expand their operations (a strategic buyer). NOTE: strategic buyers ALWAYS pay more.

So, in conclusion, if you are looking to sell your ATM business, ATM route, or ATM portfolio, expect the highest bids to come from buyers who are specifically looking to purchase ATM units in your area; they will inevitably pay the most for the opportunity.