Traditionally, ATMs spit out cash to bank customers who insert their debit or credit card. But in a twist, a reverse concept - receiving a prepaid card from an ATM in exchange for cash - is rapidly growing in popularity.

Cash has been in decline for a while. In 2019, currency was used in 26% of consumer payments, a sharp decline from 40% in 2012, according to the Atlanta Fed. And the COVID-19 pandemic further encouraged a nationwide push away from physical currency, in part because of sanitary concerns and convenience.

The shift is fodder for the rise of the reverse ATM.

Jim Mohs, associate professor at the University of New Haven, told the Washington Examiner that the growth in popularity for this new breed of ATMs is relatively fresh. Still, he noted that despite only first learning about their existence recently, he has seen two of them while out and about in Connecticut over the past month or so. One was at a retail location, and the other was in a restaurant.

Mohs said. But the reverse is now becoming a reality at retail stores and restaurants across the country.

With these new ATMs, users deposit the cash they have on them, which is then placed on plastic cards that they receive and can be used to spend. The idea comes as cash-only stores and merchants are quickly becoming replaced with cashless and card-only locales.

Reverse ATMs might be costly to purchase and maintain for businesses and venues such as hotels, casinos, amusement parks, and sports stadiums, where they are growing in popularity. Yet an increasing number of businesses are starting to see that the benefits outweigh the negatives, such as user fees at some of the machines.

Naushervan Beg, a partner and business development executive at Wavetec, which sells reverse ATMs, told Axios that reverse ATMs are becoming a competitive business space.

Beg said.

To read the complete articles, see:
It's not easy being green: Reverse ATMs are on the rise amid declining cash use(https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/economy/reverse-atms-rise-declining-cash-use)
Infection Fears Could Give a Boost to a 'Reverse ATM' That Takes in Cash, Dispenses Cards(https://www.digitaltransactions.net/infection-fears-could-give-a-boost-to-a-reverse-atm-that-takes-in-cash-dispenses-cards/)