The first non-bank ATM machine on St. Thomas went into operation Wednesday, at Friendly Grocery on the island's North Side.
Sen. David Jones, who sponsored a provision in the 2000 Omnibus Bill to allow the machines in the territory, was at the convenience store, located at the former Berry's Farm Restaurant site on Crown Mountain Road, to cut the ribbon on the machine.
The ATM is the first of many expected to be installed on St. Thomas and St. John, according to Frank Nassetta, president of Caribbean Exchange Enterprise. Eleven machines have been set up on St. Croix already.
Ali Abu-soud, owner of Friendly Grocery, which is also home to the North Side's first and only gas station, said, "We are doing our best to build the North Side community."
One North Sider agreed. Kal Mousa, recently arrived from Miami, said he had been waiting three days for the machine to be available.
"I have no transportation," he said, "but I'm within walking distance of Friendly's." Friendly's is on the site of the old Berry's Farm on Crown Mountain Road, about a mile west of the crossroads.
Mousa said he was used to having machines in stores where he did business in Miami.
Non-bank ATM operators can charge a charge card "swipe fee" of up to $2.50 per transaction, Nassetta said. In high-traffic areas, the maximum will prevail, he said, but in neighborhood locations, his firm is charging $1.50.
If public acceptance is favorable, Nassetta said, "we may install 60 to 65 machines" in the territory.
He said Caribbean Exchange can operate the machines itself, or it can lease them to merchants, who then get to keep 85 percent of the swipe-fees.
Jones had to fight Lt. Gov. Gerard "Luz" James, the V.I. Bankers Association and the V.I. Banking Board to let non-bank ATMs operate in the territory. James and others in the banking community felt the machines would not be properly regulated and could be used for money laundering. The provision was made law when senators overrode Gov. Charles W. Turnbull's veto of 11 sections of the Omnibus Bill.
Pam Morales of Caribbean Exchange said any credit or debit card from a local bank can be used in machines such as the one at Friendly Grocery.
The ATMs have the capacity to disburse up to $200 per transaction, Nassetta said, but how much a machine will give out is set by the entity operating it.
