Assessing the Impact of the ATM in Delivering Service in the Banking Industry. A case of GCB Bank Ltd

In Ghana, developments in information and communication technology are radically changing the way businesses are done. These developments in technology have resulted in new delivery channels for banking products and services such as Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), Telephone Banking, PC-Banking, and Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale (EFTPoS). This study assesses the impact of the ATM technology in delivering service quality in the banking industry. The study focused on customers and staff of GCB Bank Ltd in ten (10) branches in Greater Accra Region. The purposive sampling technique was used in selecting 272 customers and staff from these 10 branches in the Greater Accra Region. The results of the study generally indicated that, 30% of respondents use the ATM services once a week while 26.4 % often use the ATM on alternate days and 22.8% use it once a month. A high percentage of 84.8% of respondents asserting that they watch out for the location of the ATM before going to transact means customers who go to the ATM are becoming more security conscious and banks must consider this factor in locating an ATM. Respondents also use the ATM as and when needed and since banks also must satisfy them should make the ATM available to them at all times. The three top-most challenges customers are faced with at the ATM were also identified in the study and these included,” accounts being debited without dispensing” (92.4%), followed by “ATM being sited at an obscured area” (86%) and “the ATM not dispensing the denomination required” by customers ranked third with an average of 62.4%. These show that the ATM service has contributed positively to the provision of banking services in GCB Bank Ltd. and the Ghanaian Banking industry as a whole. Keywords: E-banking, Internet banking, ATM, SMS, PO