Retailers today are under constant pressure to increase foot traffic, boost customer loyalty, and grow revenue…all while controlling costs.
In our previous article, we explored how financial services can turn retail stores into repeat-visit destinations. But not all financial services are created equal.
Some drive frequent, predictable traffic, while others generate higher transaction value but fewer visits.
Understanding the difference is key to building a retail strategy that works.
Retail financial services fall into two primary categories:
High-frequency services (traffic drivers)
High-value services (revenue drivers)
Both matter, but they serve different purposes.
Retailers don’t need to choose one or the other. With BANK IN A BOX, they can combine both to create a balanced, high-performing service mix.
The most powerful traffic drivers share one common trait – Customers use them regularly and predictably.
Multi-denomination ATM withdrawals – Cash continues to play a critical role in everyday retail spending, particularly for small-dollar transactions. Customers don’t just need access to cash, they want flexibility in how they access it.
Multi-denomination ATMs like BANK IN A BOX allow users to withdraw the exact mix of bills they need, increasing both convenience and usage frequency.
This usage drives weekly visit frequency, incremental in-store purchases, and enhances customer experience.
Bill pay – U.S. consumers pay approximately 16.8 billion bills annually, totaling trillions in payments each year. This makes bill pay one of the most consistent financial behaviors in the country.
For many consumers, especially those who prefer cash or alternative financial services, retail locations remain a trusted place to complete these transactions.
Offering self-service bill payment typically results in monthly (or more frequent) visits, repeat traffic, and strong customer retention.
Cash deposits – Even as the world becomes more digital, retail customers still need a way to convert their cash into digital currency. Offering cash deposits at your retail store’s BANK IN A BOX is yet another way to help store visitors participate in the digital economy…or simply offload their excess cash into their bank account.
According to data from VISA, cash deposits can drive steady transaction increases. The demand for cash deposits helps retailers become essential financial access points for these customers.
Offering deposits helps boost recurring machine use, creates a stronger reliance for store services in the community, and positions retailers as a financial hub.
Mobile phone top-ups – Prepaid mobile users regularly need to reload their talk, text, and data balances, often on a weekly or monthly basis. These transactions are fast, repeatable, and highly habitual.
Providing mobile top-ups in the store can lead to high-frequency visits, quick transaction times, and strong repeat behavior.
While high-value services may not drive as many visits, they generate stronger profit margins per visit.
Money orders – Money orders remain widely used for rent payments and secure transactions, particularly among cash-heavy consumers.
Offering money orders through a self-service kiosk like BANK IN A BOX provides high-trust financial products and consistent demand while complementing other services – all with ZERO additional compliance.
Crypto transactions – Cryptocurrency access in retail is growing rapidly as consumers look for simple, physical access points to digital assets. Retail kiosks provide an accessible on-ramp for users who may not engage with traditional exchanges – especially customers who primarily use cash.
Offering crypto transactions in your store can generate high transaction values and generate emerging demand. Even better, with BANK IN A BOX’s multi-provider platform, retailers can offer more than one cryptocurrency provider – a true differentiator in the market.
Digital gift cards – Digital gift cards continue to grow as both a gifting solution and a budgeting tool. Retailers who offer digital gift card purchases can enjoy high-margin transactions, incremental purchases, and even seasonal spikes.
Self-service kiosks are no longer emerging technology. They are becoming a standard in retail and financial services.
The global self-service kiosk market was valued at over $34 billion in 2024 and is projected to exceed $62 billion by 2030, reflecting rapid adoption across industries.
In the U.S. over 90% of large retailers have deployed kiosks, while more than 55% of consumers prefer self-service for faster transactions.
BANK IN A BOX offers further benefits and differentiation by combining self-service options with ATM operations, providing a complete cash solution into a single machine.
The winning strategy: Combine traffic + revenue
Retailers often fall into one of two traps:
The most effective strategy combines:
This creates a powerful traffic and revenue grouping because more services = more visits = more transactions = more revenue.
The opportunity is not just to offer financial services, it’s to offer the right mix of services in the right format.
Retailers who adopt a full-service, self-service model can:
In a competitive landscape, the stores that win will be those that become essential to their customers’ daily routines. Financial services make that possible…with BANK IN A BOX!
TL;DR: The most effective retail strategy combines high-frequency services like ATM withdrawals, bill pay, deposits, and top-ups with high-value services like money orders, crypto and gift cards – and platforms like BANK IN A BOX make it easy to deliver all of them through one self-service solution.