[StBernard] Off the Clock

[Westley Annis]

Off the Clock 
by Christian Moises  
Age: 45

Family: wife, Lisa; children, Brooke, 13, Medlyn, 9, Chandler, 3

Education: attended Southeastern Louisiana University 

Hometown: Arabi 

If you've ever used an ATM at a restaurant, bar or somewhere else outside of
a bank, there's a decent chance Chuck Loescher had something to do with it.

The president of Chalmette-based Automatic Card Inc. got involved in the
automatic teller machine business after opening New Orleans Grocery in the
French Quarter. After realizing the ATM was making more money than the
store, he sold the grocery but made sure the new owners kept the machine. 

"That was my first location in 1994," said Loescher, who targets convenience
stores and delis throughout the area. 

A native of Arabi, Loescher started Automatic Card Inc. in 1994 and despite
being flooded out by nearly 8 feet of water mixed with oil from the nearby
Murphy Oil Refinery during Hurricane Katrina, the company returned to its
roots.

"Within three weeks, we were operating in every convenient store that would
open, working from our cars and trucks," he said. "Our business probably
grew more than 50 to 60 percent after the storm." 

How has Internet banking changed the way people use ATMs?

We have not been affected by that too much. Actually, we find with the
economy being down that ATM transactions have picked up. I don't know if
more people are living on credit, but we find the transactions have been
more or less steady or on an upward trend. 

Will the ATM ever replace the bank branch?

Probably not. There's more to banking than ATMs and getting cash. 

Do you envision a day when there will be no-fee ATMs?

I think the bigger banks will eventually offer that to try to offset the
private ATMs. I envision one day that's possible. 

What's next in the evolution of the ATM?

You're going to find that as credit cards change, you're going to see
fingerprint ATMs - that's going to be a while - but instead of having a PIN
number, it's going to take your fingerprint to confirm that you're the
person who owns that card. 

Does it bother you when people are redundant and say "ATM machine?"

Not really. 

How much of your banking do you do through an ATM?

Probably about 10 to 20 percent, usually because it's more convenient. 

What's the oddest mishap to happen at one of your machines?

People trying to put their credit cards in the receipt slot instead of the
actual slot it's supposed to go in..