Lots of Free ATMs Coming to NYC?
A consistently annoying fact of city life: your bank with its lack of ATM fees is never close enough, but the sidewalks are lined with ATMs that are happy to charge you two or (this happened to us in the East Village recently) three dollars. 
CNN Money has an item today on a new company called Free ATMs NYC which will put free ATMs (hence the name) throughout the city. The fine print is that instead of paying the fee you'll have to watch a commercial.
How it will work:
Up to six companies can advertise on each ATM at a given time, and ads are shown before, during and after each transaction. Some of the ATMs he plans to launch over the next year will have an additional screen above the ATM, where a 24-hour stream of video advertisements will play, and every ATM will constantly feature a slideshow of ads on the regular display screen. While your transaction is processing, a 15- to 20-second slideshow of ads shows up on the display screen. (Townsend said these ads won't prolong the time it takes to conduct a transaction.) Then, when your transaction is complete, a coupon is printed on your receipt. The ATMs launching next year will also allow consumers to opt out of watching the ad and pay the traditional fee.
The first ATM is being installed at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn.
Which would you rather? Throw a couple dollars out the window or sit through an inane ad?
[rgray@villagevoice.com] [@_rosiegray]
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