Take a deep dive into how a BankHive comes to life and how NoteMachine’s industry-leading experience as the partner of choice for financial institutions sets us apart from the competition.
NoteMachine has diversified
Founded in 1978, NoteMachine is part of The Brink’s Company, a global leader in total cash management, route-based secure logistics and payment solutions. NoteMachine provides integrated, technology-first financial services serving retail and corporate businesses and operating as a partner to many national financial institutions.
With traditional banks facing high street closures, the installation of a BankHive hub means that banks can maintain banking services and a face-to-face presence with their customers in high footfall areas whilst retaining their brand loyalty and reputation.
What is a BankHive hub?
BankHive is a unique banking solution supplied, installed and fully managed for financial institutions by NoteMachine. A BankHive ‘hub’ is essentially a white-labelled, temporary bank structure, with the functionality of a traditional high street bank, positioned in a low-cost retail space. Banks can have a branded, modular, fully functional bank branch, replicating the brand guidelines of their high street presence, yet without the financial commitment of a long-term lease on bricks and mortar real estate.
Bespoke design
Each BankHive hub is unique. The NoteMachine design team will conceptualise every hub to suit the specific requirements of each banking customer, whether it be for an internal location, somewhere like a shopping centre, or externally, in more rural areas, such as supermarket car parks. And, depending on the location, every hub’s design is customised to make the most of its position and specific environment.
From the first concept to the final fabrication, NoteMachine’s design team manages the entire process, creating overall concepts, considering shopfitting, specific branding, signage and furniture, and bringing the BankHive hub to life. NoteMachine works in close collaboration with the client, delivering the highest standards of on-site workmanship.
Seamless fabrication
BankHive fabrication is delivered by NoteMachine’s expert team, who have specialised in precision engineering, installation and niche shop fitting for over 13 years. They are accredited and regulated by a number of governing bodies in both the manufacturing and management processes, which means they can deliver cadence-grade, end-to-end BankHive solutions for any financial institution.
Each bespoke BankHive unit is built off-site, with NoteMachine’s technical team providing the hub’s technical infrastructure. The fabrication of the basic shell considers the needs of an internal retail location or an external location, where it’s critical to create a secure and weatherproof shell.
The fabrication process takes account of the client’s defined requirements in respect of how the space is formatted. This includes the aesthetics around the perimeter, the footprint within the location itself, security doors, entrance doors and vision panels.
White-label security products are manufactured in-house, and with ISO-9001 quality accreditation for products, as well as ISO/IEC 27001 quality accreditation, our clients can be assured all financial information and assets are kept securely.
ATMs remain at the heart of the proposition, housed in a secure environment. NoteMachine’s dedicated engineers can install, stage, commission, service and maintain all ATM variations, covering every element of Installations, Moves and Changes (IMAC).
Sustainable materials, optimum quality
NoteMachine’s currently deployed prototypes of the BankHive hub are fabricated from single-use shipping containers. However, the vision is to build the hubs purely from recycled plastic bottles, using both smart and renewable technology for minimal environmental impact, making the best effort to achieve net zero targets.
Our sustainability approach goes beyond the unit’s fabrication. Recycled boards can be used for the interior fit-out, whilst recycled electrical components, such as electrical cabling tracks and recycled plug sockets (with CE markings) plus recycled glass and aluminium, offer viable options for further sustainability.
Solar panels can be installed on the roof of a BankHive hub, and NoteMachine’s trusted fabricator is the only company in the UK to have exclusive distribution rights over a micro wind turbine. The mix of solar and wind can power an entire BankHive hub entirely off grid, in the right environment. Not only does this mean clean energy, but it opens up real estate opportunities for financial institutions to deploy hubs off grid, for example, in a car park on a housing estate in rural Scotland where all the ATMs may have closed down.
For an aesthetically pleasing look and feel, the walls of a BankHive hub can also be dressed in sedum vegetation, which can sequester carbon dioxide, soaking it up and storing it in its roots. This can be particularly beneficial in more polluted, urban areas as it improves the air quality.
A unique, end-to-end proposition
NoteMachine, with the solid backing of The Brink’s Company brand, delivers optimum solutions for a temporary bank. They understand the technology, critical security requirements and regulations that underpin banking services.
Only NoteMachine has the ability to provide the transaction processing platform and complex technical infrastructure of a BankHive hub, coupled with the strong credentials and meticulous eye for detail of the fabrication team.
NoteMachine’s end-to-end BankHive solution keeps banks at the forefront of the financial market when access to cash is still such a critical part of society.
What brings it to life?
BankHive hubs enable banks to operate as single entities or as shared branch hubs. Integrating the physical presence of a cashpoint with digital services means banks can drive value and boost revenue, connect with their customers, and provide easier access to cash and everyday banking services. Ultimately, BankHive hubs give consumers more flexibility in how they access and deposit their money.
Creating a BankHive hub is not simply about the building: other considerations include planning applications, fire regulations, local council permits, road closures and traffic management, to name a few. NoteMachine manages all of these elements on behalf of financial institutions, so they can rest assured that they are in safe hands.
The future looks bright for NoteMachine and BankHive with the unique ability to offer high security, sustainable new banking options in a safe, low-cost environment.