Answer
How do I pair a cash discount with an ATM?
The offer and the cash have to sit in the same room. A cash price advertised in a venue with no ATM is a price almost nobody takes up, because the decision happens at the counter with a card already in hand.
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Short answer
How do I pair a cash discount with an ATM?
Pair the two by putting an ATM inside the venue within line of sight of the counter where the cash price is displayed, signing the offer at the point of decision rather than only at the register, and giving staff one sentence to say when a customer reaches for a card. The Reserve Bank of Australia states businesses may offer customers a discount for using a particular payment method; card surcharging is separately being removed from 1 October 2026, which is why the discount has become the main pricing lever a venue has. Under free ATM placement the machine, cash float and servicing are funded by the operator, so pairing costs the venue nothing. General information only, not financial or legal advice.
Definition
What 'pairing' actually means
Pairing a cash discount with an ATM means designing the two together so a customer can act on the cash price in the moment they see it. It is a layout and signage exercise, not a payments product: the discount lives on your price list, and the ATM removes the only practical obstacle to taking it up.
A discount for cash is a reduction from a business's normal displayed price that applies only when the customer pays with notes and coins. The displayed price remains the price everyone pays; the cash price sits below it. Nothing about that changes when you add an ATM — the machine simply makes the lower price reachable.
The failure case is consistent across venue types. A sign at the register offers 20 cents or 1 per cent off for cash, the customer has no notes, the nearest ATM is up the street, and the sale goes through on a card. The offer looked live but never had a path to completion.
Siting
Where the machine has to sit
Withdrawal volume tracks visibility far more closely than it tracks walking distance. A machine a customer can see from the queue is used several times more often than one the same number of steps away around a corner, because using it requires no decision to go looking.
The practical test is simple: stand where a customer stands when they hear the cash price, and check whether they can see the ATM without turning around. If they cannot, the pairing is broken no matter how good the signage is.
- Inside the venue, visible from the counter or the main queue line
- Off the register queue so two lines never merge
- Lit for evening trade and inside staff line of sight
- Clear of accessible paths of travel and emergency egress
- Power point within a couple of metres and a workable data connection
- Roughly 60cm x 60cm of floor space, or a suitable wall for a through-the-wall unit
Signage
Sign the offer at the point of decision
Most venues sign a cash discount once, at the register, which is the last place it can influence anything. By then the customer has already chosen their payment method. The offer needs to appear earlier — at the menu, the shelf edge, the fuel console, the entry door — and again at the ATM itself.
Both prices must be accurate wherever they appear. Australian pricing rules administered by the ACCC require advertised prices to be truthful and not misleading, so the card price and the cash price each need to be the price actually charged at the till.
| Position | Wording it carries | What it achieves |
|---|---|---|
| Entry door or window | Cash price available in store | Sets expectation before the basket is filled |
| Shelf edge, menu or fuel console | Card price and cash price side by side | Puts the choice where the purchase is decided |
| Beside the ATM | Withdraw here and pay the cash price | Connects machine to offer explicitly |
| At the register | Cash price applied automatically | Confirms the offer and prompts the ask |
Staff
One sentence, said the same way every shift
The single highest-return part of pairing costs nothing. Give staff one sentence — "the cash price is $9.80, and there's an ATM just there if you'd like it" — and write the discount level down so every shift applies it identically.
Inconsistency is what turns a cash offer into a complaint. If one staff member rounds the discount and another does not, customers notice, and the pricing accuracy the ACCC expects is no longer being met.
- The discount written down in cents or per cent, not left to judgement
- One agreed sentence for the counter
- A rule for what happens on split payments
- A float and change plan for the extra cash volume in peak trade
- A weekly look at withdrawal counts against cash takings
The numbers
What the pairing is worth
The arithmetic runs in two directions at once. Every sale that moves from card to cash removes your cost of card acceptance on that sale, and every withdrawal made on an ATM in your venue earns the venue a share of the surcharge under a placement agreement.
Set the discount at your own cost per card sale and the offer is cost-neutral before the ATM revenue is counted. Set it below that cost and the offer improves your margin on every cash sale. Set it above and it costs you money — which is why the figure should come from your merchant statement rather than a headline rate.
| Line | Card sale | Cash sale with a 20c discount |
|---|---|---|
| Displayed price | $10.00 | $10.00 |
| Discount given | — | $0.20 |
| Card acceptance cost avoided | — | $0.20 (example cost per card sale) |
| Amount the business keeps | $9.80 | $9.80 |
| Cash in the till | No | Yes |
| Venue share of an ATM withdrawal | — | Additional, under a placement agreement |
Cost to the venue
Who funds the machine
Under free ATM placement the operator funds the terminal, the installation, the cash inside it, the connectivity, the monitoring and the servicing, and the venue earns an agreed share of each withdrawal surcharge. There is no purchase, no lease and no float from the venue's own working capital.
That matters for pairing because it removes the objection that usually stalls the decision. A venue considering a cash discount does not have to spend capital to make the discount workable — the cash access side can be added at no cost, and it produces income rather than expense.
Step by step
Pair a cash discount with an ATM
- 1
Price the discount from your statement
Work out your real cost per card sale from your merchant statement, then set the cash discount at or below it so the offer is cost-neutral or better.
- 2
Confirm your card acceptance terms
Check your acquirer agreement allows a discount for another payment method, and keep both prices accurate wherever they are displayed.
- 3
Place the ATM in line of sight of the counter
Site the machine inside the venue, visible from the queue, off the register line, lit, powered and clear of accessible paths of travel.
- 4
Sign the offer at the point of decision
Show the card price and cash price together at the shelf, menu or console, again beside the ATM, and once more at the register.
- 5
Brief staff and review weekly
Agree one sentence for the counter, write the discount level down, plan the float and change, then compare withdrawal counts with cash takings each week.
FAQs
Questions people ask
The Reserve Bank of Australia states businesses can continue to offer discounts for particular payment methods. Card surcharging is separately being removed from 1 October 2026, which is why the discount is now the main pricing lever a venue has. Verify the detail with the RBA source document before acting — this is general information, not legal advice.
In practice, yes. The offer is decided at the counter, so the machine needs to be visible from there. A machine outside or up the street is not used often enough to change how customers pay.
Under free placement, nothing. The operator funds the machine, install, cash float, connectivity and servicing, and the venue earns a share of each withdrawal surcharge.
About 60cm x 60cm of floor space for a freestanding terminal plus roughly a metre of clear standing room in front, or a suitable external wall for a through-the-wall install.
It can, depending on your banking arrangements and how you deposit takings. Check your business banking fees for cash deposits before setting the discount level, so the discount is priced against your full cost picture.
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Keep reading
Related pages
- What signage do I need for a cash discount?Where each sign goes and what it has to say to stay accurate.
- How much cash float do I need for a cash discount?Change, banking and till planning once more customers pay cash.
- Discount for cash — every state and tradeThe silo hub: states, cities, regional towns and business types.
- Offering a discount for cashThe national explainer, with each Reserve Bank source linked in full.
- How do I set up a cash discount?The five setup steps, pricing and the rules that apply.
- Free ATM placementA fully managed machine at no cost, with a share of every withdrawal.
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