Alan Cunningham shows off the Cash-N-Go ATM installed recently at the Yellowknife airport. - Norm Poole/NNSL photo

With that thought, Alanco Holdings' Alan Cunningham was quick to act on an opportunity to get into the ATM (automatic teller machine) business last year.

Alanco's primary business at the time was installing and servicing snack vending machines. That quickly changed with an approach by Cash-N-Go, an Edmonton-based ATM supplier, with an offer to represent the firm in NWT and Nunavut.

Cunningham has since installed Cash-N-Go ATMs at a number of Yellowknife businesses, as well as at the airport.

Many of the businesses going to ATMs are switching from a bank debit-card system, said Cunningham. "Many pubs, for example, are set up so that a customer can use a bank debit card to get cash."

At high-volume transaction locations, that can be costly.

"With a bank debit card, both the customer and the business pay a fee for each transaction. The difference with an ATM is that the transaction fee is paid solely by the customer. The business receives a percentage of that fee.

"In effect, the result for the business is to move cash-dispensing from the cost side of the ledger to the revenue side."

Depending on the number of transactions, the difference can be significant -- up to several thousand dollars a month, said Cunningham.

Businesses deciding on an ATM have several options, from buying the machine outright to leasing with a turn-key service arrangement with the supplier. The company's first ATM outside Yellowknife was installed recently at a gas station in Fort Simpson.

The firm is currently exploring the feasibility of installing ATMs in band offices in both NWT and Nunavut.

"We were approached recently by an accountant who has several band offices as clients. Typically the band office serves as the bank in the smaller communities. People pay their bills there and many are set up for debit-card transactions so people can get cash. An ATM could be a real cost and time-saver for band offices and we are looking closely at this."