SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — There are now between 475,000 and 500,000 operational ATMs in the U.S. market, according to data from the ATM Industry Association (ATMIA).

ATMIA calls the step a “significant milepost” after a list of setbacks including the recovering economy, updates from Windows and the EMV migration.

“These numbers confirm what we have suspected in recent months,” said ATMIA U.S. Executive Director David Tente. “There is growing recognition of the important role that ATMs play in our payments system and, alongside of it, in a new wave of branch transformation that is sweeping through the banking industry.”

New functionality is coming to many ATMs. Financial institutions large and small are facilitating prestaged withdrawals and deploying contactless technologies. Tens of thousands of independent ATMs now provide person-to-person money transfer capabilities. And new bank branches are more likely to be smaller and depend more substantially on the use of advanced function ATM terminals.

Looking even further into the future, ATMIA asserts that ATM deployment companies and manufacturers are coming together to embrace the next generation of ATMs, which could rely on app-based platforms for an enhanced user experience, improved security, and greater interoperability. All of these factors could collectively drive accelerating growth in the ATM channel. ATMIA has launched a Global ATM Innovation portal on its website, which includes the Industry Blueprint for Next Generation ATMs and other resources related to ATM innovation.

ATMIA is a nonprofit trade association representing the entire global ATM industry. ATMIA serves more than 10,000 members from more than 690 participating companies in 70 countries spanning the worldwide ATM market, including financial institutions, independent ATM deployment companies, equipment manufacturers, processors and a plethora of ATM service and value-added solution providers.