By Tamara Keith, Public Affairs
Posted March 31, 1999

Marcos Gilberto uses a new Cal State 9 ATM in Moffitt Library. Noah Berger photo.

Berkeley recently shed its distinction as the only UC campus without an automatic teller machine -- with the installation of eight ATMs at locations around campus, and two more expected later this year.

"It's a win win win situation," said project head Bud Travers, assistant to the vice chancellor ‚ resource development. "Students, faculty and staff can get the service of the ATMs without having to walk a long distance; the ATMs will generate revenue for the campus; and those revenues will be shared with the units that are housing the ATMs."

The ATMs represent three credit unions and one bank selected through a competitive bidding process. More than 20 institutions participated, bidding separately on each site. The most competitive bids were chosen; some institutions won the bid at more than one location.

"Both banks and credit unions got the opportunity to be here and service people," said Travers. "It wasn't just the big financial institutions; it was the little ones also. That's why we're so happy with the process."

Unlike many other campuses, which offer a cluster of ATMs at a central location, Berkeley's new automatic teller machines are widely dispersed. (See sidebar for locations, financial institutions and hours.)

"We wanted them to be spread out through the campus mainly for the convenience of the students, faculty and staff," said Chen Yin Noah, who worked on the ATM project for the Office of Resource Development, in collaboration with nearly 20 other campus units and committees. "We felt that if we only had one location, that would limit the amount of service and convenience we could provide."

"Mostly everybody is doing their banking by ATMs now," added Travers. "If you have to walk all the way across campus to go to an ATM, you're wasting a lot of time."

As advocated by the Office of Resource Development, the credit unions' ATMs don't attach pesky surcharges to the transactions of non-members.

Safety was another consideration. The UC Police Department helped select the locations and mandated the machines' security features and hours of operation.

"We thought very much about safety, and put the machines in places where there were lots of people around," said Noah. "They were all required to be equipped with a lot of security features that not many ATMs have. They have video cameras, recorders and multiple alarms."

Campus ATM Hours and Locations

Haas School of Business -- Bank of America
Mon-Fri: 6:30 a.m.-10 p.m.
Sat: 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
Sun: 9 a.m.-10 p.m.

Terrace Cafe (Bechtel Engineering Building) -- Bank of America
Daily: 6 a.m.-5 p.m.

Golden Bear Restaurant (Cesar Chavez Student Center) -- Bank of America
Mon-Thur: 7 a.m.-9 p.m.
Fri: 7 a.m.-6 p.m.
Sat: 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sun: noon-5 p.m.

International House -- University & State Employees (USE) Credit Union
Daily: 7 a.m.-11 p.m.

Moffitt Undergraduate Library -- Cal State 9 Credit Union and Cooperative Center Federal Credit Union (jointly)
Mon.-Thur.: 9 a.m.-12 midnight
Fri.-Sat: 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Sun.: 1 p.m.-12 midnight

Clark Kerr Campus -- Cal State 9 Credit Union
Mon.-Fri.: 8 a.m.-12 midnight
Sat.-Sun.: 3 p.m.-12 midnight

Faculty Club -- Cal State 9 Credit Union
Daily: 6 a.m.-12 midnight

MLK Student Union -- Cal State 9 Credit Union
Mon.-Thur.: 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Fri.: 8 a.m.-6 p.m.
Sat.: 10 a.m.-6 p.m.
Sun.: noon-5 p.m.

March 31 - April 6, 1999 (Volume 27, Number 28)
Copyright 1999, The Regents of the University of California.
Produced and maintained by the Office of Public Affairs at UC Berkeley.
Comments? E-mail berkeleyan@pa.urel.berkeley.edu.