US Bank has fully converted its fleet of nearly 5,000 U.S. Bank automated teller machines (ATMs) to the Windows 7 operating system, avoiding issues that could arise since Microsoft has discontinued support of its previous operating system, Windows XP.
The industry had been planning for the discontinuation of support from Microsoft for Windows XP for several years. U.S. Bank is one of the first major banks to complete the conversion of its entire ATM fleet. Other ATM owners in the industry have announced that they plan to purchase extended support from Microsoft while they complete their conversion.
"We are very pleased to have completed our conversion in a timely manner, avoiding future expense or exposure," said Jeannie Fichtel, executive vice president for U.S. Bank 24-Hour Banking. "Data security is very important to us, and while upgrading to Windows 7 is not our only defense, it is an important piece of our overall security measures."
U.S. Bank chose to upgrade the operating systems on its entire fleet by the April 2014 deadline as part of an overall strategy that included updates to meet new technology enhancements such as ATM deposit automation, compliance with enhanced accessibility rules from the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and replacement of older ATMs in the fleet. Today, the average age of a U.S. Bank ATM is five years.
In October 2013, U.S. Bank and Diebold announced their joint work to initiate the industry's first ATM conversions to Windows 7 and placing U.S. Bank at the forefront of meeting the new security requirements.