Kansas Welfare Law May Boost ATM Use

TOPEKA, KS -- While Kansas's new welfare regulations signed into law by Gov. Sam Brownback on April 16 may spell trouble for FECs, operators of ATMs may see their profits jump significantly. Among the provisions in the new law, called the HOPE Act, is a prohibition against spending benefit money at FECs and a limit of ATM withdrawals of $25 per day.

As some have noted, the $25 a day limit will result in more trips to the ATM. According to the latest statistics, families receiving benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program get about $400 a month. With the vast majority of ATMs only dispensing $20 bills, a typical family would have to make an average of 20 trips to the ATM to receive their full monthly benefits.

What remains to be seen is whether bank or independent ATMs will become the immediate recipient of the predicted increased transactions. The new law, which is said to place the nation's toughest restrictions on welfare beneficiaries, is scheduled to take effect July 1.