What Your ATM & ITM Vendor Isn't Telling You

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And why it's costing you more than you think

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The Conflict of Interest No One Talks About

If your service provider also sells the maintenance contract, you've got a built-in conflict. Their incentive is to show good results, minimize reported failures, and avoid triggering penalties or hard conversations.

That's not conspiracy—it's just math.

And the cost to your institution?

• Downtime that never gets documented

• Refill misses hidden behind automated tickets

• Customer and Member experiences lost to asterisks and footnotes

How Downtime Gets Disguised

Most vendor-generated reports start the clock when the ticket is logged. But what about the hour or two that machine sat unavailable before anyone noticed?

Or the same problem that triggers three visits in a week, but each one is treated as a separate "successfully resolved" ticket?

Or the cash outage on Friday afternoon...that doesn't count as downtime because the ATM was "technically operational"?

This is how "98% uptime" becomes a feel-good number that doesn't reflect reality on the ground.

The Real Cost of Not Knowing

The hidden consequences of underreported service issues add up fast:

• Lost revenue from unavailable surcharge and interchange fees

• Negative member/customer experiences at critical moments

• Operational drag on branch staff who escalate issues manually

• Compliance exposure from missed security patches or misconfigured endpoints

Worse yet: you can't improve what you can't measure. And your vendor isn't going to flag their own misses.

What You Should Be Asking Your Vendor Today

Here are five questions every institution should put on the table:

1. How is downtime calculated—by ticket or by actual unavailability?

2. Can I see missed service windows and repeat issues per terminal?

3. Do you break out parts delays or technician no-shows?

4. How often are proactive security updates verified?

5. Do I have a say in how SLA metrics are defined?

If they can't answer these clearly—or won't—it's time to dig deeper.

What Makes BCOS Different

At BCOS, we don't profit from service calls. We don't own a fleet of trucks. And we don't make a dime from selling you hardware.

That's what makes our managed services truly independent—and why our reporting is trusted by financial institutions across the country.

We track every detail. We show you what others won't. And we help you make smarter decisions that actually improve performance.

You get full visibility, proactive alerts, and unbiased recommendations—all in language your exec team and board can understand.

Let's Have the Conversation

If you've ever wondered if your numbers are too good to be true—or you're just tired of asking for more transparency—let's talk.

We'll review your current reporting, surface blind spots, and show you exactly where your operations can get better.

No pressure. No pitch. Just clarity.

Email info@branchcos.com today to schedule a 15-minute vendor scorecard review with BCOS.