Dear Mr Banker, Have You Considered an IP Camera?

Dear Mr. Banker,

I’m one of those people who actually bring my paycheck to your bank, to a real live teller every other Friday. And on non-paycheck Fridays, I use your ATM for a withdrawal. Most people I know opt for automatic payroll deposit but I like to see my money come and go.

I thought I was in the minority until I found an article in The Gallup Journal. When Gallup polled U.S. bank customers they found that 94% go to the bank, with 67% visiting at least once a month. Of those, 44% use the ATM at least once a month and 37% several times a month. The article does not go into why less than half use the machines. Perhaps it has to do with ATM fees or the convenience of paying with a debit card. Or maybe they’re just plain scared.

We all know ATM’s pose a threat for being robbed, being unmanned and available round the clock. And then, there’s identity theft to worry about.  In the last post of Kintronics blog by Virginia we delved into the crime of card skimming where criminals use high tech scanners to steal account information when a cardholder swipes his ATM card while a covert captures the keystrokes of his PIN.

Savvy managers like you know that banks need to stay ahead of crime so you can assure your customers they’ll be secure when using your ATM’s. And I’m here to tell you that IP cameras are perfect for round-the-clock monitoring no matter where they are.

in your lobby

 

a standalone

or a drive-thru

Police will tell you that one of the biggest challenges in apprehending ATM crime is coming up with usable video to identify criminals. So, many banks, maybe yours included, have been installing surveillance cameras at their ATM’s for years. But the problem is you’ve been using analog cameras. Analog cameras do not produce the sharply detailed images required for forensic investigations.




 But swapping them out for IP cameras will give you high resolution images that capture even the smallest details, and this will make for accurate identification.

There’s an IP camera to suit every ATM, no matter what its size of shape

• ·         HDTV cameras can give you coverage of the entire ATM with a wide 16:9 format.
• ·         Megapixel cameras can cover a large area that would require several analog cameras.
• ·         Discreet cameras can be concealed in an ATM to capture “face shots.”

IP cameras can overcome the lighting challenges presented by an ATM

• ·         Megapixel IP cameras with Wide Dynamic Range provide superb image quality in bright sunlight, under street illumination, or indoor florescent lighting. Even reflections pose no problem.
• ·         HDTV IP cameras with 720p or 1280x720 resolution and 16:9 wide screen format with back light compensation capture high clarity, detailed video.

There are several quality covert surveillance cameras available that can improve your ATM security but for this post, let’s look at the Axis Communications P-12 series of IP cameras.

Axis P-12 series

Tight spaces limit your choices for concealing a surveillance camera. That’s where covert models such as the flexible pinhole Axis P-1204 and P-1214 come in handy. 

It consists of a small pinhole sensor unit and a separate main unit holding all the intelligence, with a 26 foot cable to connect the two. Such a modular design allows it to fit where a conventional IP camera cannot. 

 So while the sensor unit with its 720p HDTV resolution and 3 mm lens is concealed in the wall of the ATM, the main unit placed inside the bank connects to the network like any conventional IP camera.

photo

Real Time Video

 Since the installation or retrieval of a skimming device can take place in the time it takes to withdraw cash, scoring real time video is of the essence.  Mounted at eye level, the P12 sensor unit with its 3mm lens will capture the criminal’s facial features from a natural angle, producing the perfect “face shot” in vertically-oriented video stream. Voila! The card skimmer is caught in the act, and the 720p HDTV resolution video sent to the police will make for a positive identification.

Bandwidth and Storage Considerations

You’re wondering about getting that video to the police? That’s another area in which IP cameras excel over analog. With an analog camera, someone would have to visit the site of the ATM to retrieve video from the DVR, but since an IP camera is network attached you can access the footage remotely.

Axis Corridor Format is perfect for the narrow areas typical of ATM’s, and the vertically-oriented video requires less bandwidth than landscape formats. So taken along with H.264 compression, you’re trimming your storage needs without compromising image quality. This makes for faster downloads too.

Or if you’d prefer edge storage, both the P1204 and P1214 as well as the P-1214-E with housing come with built-in slots for micro SD and micro SDHC chips. This comes in handy for backup if primary storage fails.

Compliance

What’s that you say? Oh yes, security. Banks do have IT security concerns, don’t they?

The P-12 guarantees IT security with HTTPS encryption and it complies with IEEE.802X standards. So you don’t have to worry about sensitive data being lost or stolen.And when it comes to protecting the privacy of law abiding customers, VMS software can blur facial features.

Well, Mr. Banker I’ll be on my way now, but I’ll leave you with this video link so you check out the

Axis P-12 IP Camera for yourself. 

And if you’d like more information it can be found at www.kintronics.com or you can call and speak to a Kintronics sales engineer at 914-944-3425. Or perhaps you’d prefer filling out an information request form so a sales engineer can contact you with the best solution.