Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Monthly net profit
$620
Gross surcharge revenue
$1,050
Location commission paid
$175
Annualized net profit
$7,440
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How to use this
- 1Enter transactions per month.
- 2Enter surcharge fee per transaction ($).
- 3Enter commission paid to location per transaction ($).
- 4Enter network/processing cost per transaction ($).
- 5Enter monthly cash loading/armored service cost ($).
- 6Read your monthly net profit on the right — it updates as you type.
- 7Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
Independent ATM placement income comes almost entirely from the surcharge fee charged to the cardholder, split between the ATM owner and sometimes the location owner as a per-transaction commission or flat rent. This calculator takes expected monthly transaction count, your surcharge fee, any commission owed to the location, processing cost per transaction, and cash-loading/armored-service cost, to compute net monthly profit per machine. Transaction volume is the single biggest variable and depends entirely on foot traffic and whether nearby bank-branch ATMs offer free withdrawals to the same crowd — a convenience store in a cash-heavy neighborhood with no nearby bank easily triples the volume of a suburban strip mall location.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Transactions per month: 350
- Surcharge fee per transaction: 3 $
- Commission paid to location per transaction: 0.5 $
- Network/processing cost per transaction: 0.3 $
- Monthly cash loading/armored service cost: 150 $
Results
- Monthly net profit: $620
- Gross surcharge revenue: $1,050
- Location commission paid: $175
- Annualized net profit: $7,440
What each field means
Inputs
- Transactions per month
- The transactions per month used in the calculation. Starts at 350 so you have a working example on load.
- Surcharge fee per transaction ($)
- The surcharge fee per transaction used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 3 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Commission paid to location per transaction ($)
- The commission paid to location per transaction used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 0.5 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Network/processing cost per transaction ($)
- The network/processing cost per transaction used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 0.3 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Monthly cash loading/armored service cost ($)
- The monthly cash loading/armored service cost used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 150 $ so you have a working example on load.
Results
- Monthly net profit
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Gross surcharge revenue
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Location commission paid
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Annualized net profit
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
What's a typical surcharge fee in 2024-2025?
$2.50-$3.50 is standard for independent ATMs in the US, with some urban and nightlife/high-demand locations charging $4-5. Surcharge income has trended up over the past decade as cash usage declined but the remaining cash demand became less price-sensitive.
How many transactions should I expect at a new location?
Bars, nightclubs, and cash-only ethnic grocery or convenience stores can see 300-600+ transactions monthly; a low-traffic office building or a location near multiple bank branches might see under 100. Ask about existing foot traffic and nearby free-ATM competition before committing to a placement.
Who typically owns the ATM — me or the location?
Common models are: independent operator owns the machine and pays the location a per-transaction commission or flat monthly rent (most common for good locations), or the location buys the machine outright and contracts an ISO (independent sales organization) just for cash loading and processing.
What's the biggest hidden cost in ATM placement?
Cash logistics — either your own time and vehicle risk carrying cash, or paying an armored service $100-$300+/month per machine depending on load frequency and amount. Vault cash opportunity cost (money sitting idle in the machine instead of earning interest) is a secondary factor at higher cash-holding amounts.
Accuracy and limitations
- Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
- Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.
- This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant.
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Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). ATM Placement Revenue Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/atm-placement-revenue
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/atm-placement-revenue" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ATM Placement Revenue Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [ATM Placement Revenue Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/atm-placement-revenue) (2026).