- To pitch ATM placement to bar owners, walk in mid-afternoon on a weekday, ask for the owner by name, and lead with what the bar gets: a monthly check, no cost, and more cash spent at the bar.
- Keep the ask small and specific: one machine, one spot, a short term with a low-volume removal clause.
- Bring a one-page summary, a printed agreement and a photo of the machine; most yeses come on a second or third visit.
- The top objections are "we already have one", "everyone pays by card" and "what about liability"; each has a short, honest answer.
- Pitch from a scored list, not at random: a list of 40 venues and 15 in-person visits is a realistic first round.
If you are figuring out how to pitch ATM placement to bar owners, here is the short version: show up on a weekday afternoon, ask for the owner, and in under a minute explain that you will put a machine in at no cost, handle everything, and send them a check every month. Then ask for one specific spot and a short trial. The scripts below give you the exact words for a walk-in, a phone call and an email, plus answers to the objections you will hear.
Part of our complete guide: how to find vending machine locations.
Bars are among the best locations for ATM machines because customers need cash for covers, tips, pool tables and card minimums, and they need it late at night. That also means many bar owners have been pitched before. You win by being prepared, brief and easy to say yes to.
Before you walk in
Pick the right bars
Score your list first: cash intensity, foot traffic, hours, distance to the nearest free ATM, and whether the person behind the bar can actually decide. A neighborhood bar with pool tables and no bank within a few blocks is a better first pitch than a chain sports bar that needs corporate sign-off. Pull the list by ZIP with the owner or manager contact using VendBuddy's location finder, so you know who you are asking for before you open the door.
Know your offer cold
Decide before the visit: your split (a percentage of surcharge or a flat amount per withdrawal), your surcharge, your service promise (for example, "restocked before every weekend, repair response within 24-48 hours"), and your minimum term. Our ATM placement agreement guide lays out the common structures.
What to bring
- A one-page summary: what they get, what you handle, your contact info.
- Two printed copies of your agreement.
- A photo of the exact machine and its footprint (most retail ATMs take up roughly the space of a small cabinet).
- A simple business card. Clean clothes. No sales-convention energy.
When to show up
Timing matters more with bars than with almost any other venue.
| Time | Why | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| Tue-Thu, about 2-4 p.m. | Owner or manager often in for deliveries and prep; bar is quiet | Best |
| Weekday opening hour | Staff setting up; owner may be around | Good |
| Friday and Saturday nights | Staff slammed; nobody decides anything at 11 p.m. | Avoid |
| Sunday or Monday | Many owners off; some bars closed | Hit or miss |
If the owner is not in, ask the bartender when they usually are and get the owner's first name. That alone makes the next visit warmer.
Picture the machines paying you while you sleep
That’s the real promise of vending — income that doesn’t cost you your time, and a life on your own terms. VendBuddy turns this guide into a step-by-step plan so you actually build it instead of just reading about it. Start free today.
Start building free →The walk-in script
Ask for the owner by name if you have it. When they come over:
"Hi, I'm [Name], I run a local ATM company. I'll keep this to one minute. I'd like to put an ATM right there by the [pool table / end of the bar] at no cost to you. I own it, I load the cash, I handle repairs and all the compliance. Every month you get [30% of every surcharge / a dollar for every withdrawal], by direct deposit with a report. A lot of your customers need cash for covers and tips, and when they pull it here, a good chunk of it gets spent here. If it doesn't do enough volume in the first few months, I take it out, no penalty. Would that spot work, or is there a better one?"
Notice the last line. You are not asking "are you interested?" You are asking where it goes. If they hesitate, hand over the one-pager and ask one question: "How often do people ask your bartenders where the nearest ATM is?" Let them answer. Then:
"I'll leave this with you. I'm back in the neighborhood Thursday afternoon. Can I stop by then to answer questions?"
The phone script
Call mid-afternoon on a weekday. The goal of the call is a short in-person meeting, not a signature.
"Hi, is this [Owner]? This is [Name] with [Company], a local ATM operator. Quick question: do you have an ATM in the bar right now? ... Got it. I place ATMs in bars around [neighborhood] at no cost to the owner, and the owner gets a monthly share of every withdrawal. I'd like to take ten minutes to show you the machine and the numbers. Are you usually in on Tuesday or Wednesday afternoons?"
If they already have one: "How is it working out? Is it ever empty or down on a busy night?" If the answer is yes, ask when their current agreement ends and put that date in your calendar.
The email script
Email works best as a follow-up to a visit, not as a cold first touch. Keep it short enough to read on a phone behind the bar.
Subject: ATM for [Bar Name], no cost, monthly check
Hi [Owner],
Thanks for your time [today / on Tuesday]. As promised, here is the short version:
- I place and own the ATM, load the cash, and handle repairs and compliance.
- You receive [X% of the surcharge / $X per withdrawal] every month with a transaction report.
- If it averages under [60] withdrawals a month for three months, I remove it at no cost to you.
- Term: [24-36] months, and you can see the full agreement attached.
I can install within about [two weeks] of signing. Does [spot you discussed] still work for you?
[Name], [phone]
Answers to the eight objections you will hear
| Objection | Short, honest answer |
|---|---|
| "We already have one." | "How is it doing? Is it ever empty on a Friday? When does your agreement end?" Note the date and follow up a month before it. |
| "Everyone pays with cards now." | "Most do, and that is fine. The machine is for the ones who need cash: covers, tips, the pool table, the guy whose card got declined. And cash sales skip the card fees you pay on every swipe, which often run a few percent." |
| "What's in it for me?" | Give a number: "At about 150 withdrawals a month, your share would be roughly $X a month." Use real math from your split, not a promise. |
| "What if it gets robbed?" | "The machine and cash are mine and I insure them. It gets bolted to the floor in a spot your staff can see." |
| "It takes up space." | "It is about the size of a small cabinet. Let's find a corner that isn't earning anything right now." |
| "I don't want a long contract." | "Fair. [24] months, and if it doesn't do the volume, I take it out with no penalty to either of us." |
| "I need to talk to my partner." | "Of course. Can I leave this with you and come back Thursday so I can answer their questions directly?" |
| "Another company offered me 50/50." | "Ask them who loads it on Saturday night and how fast they fix it. I'm local. I can do [counter-offer or tier] and I'll be here when it matters." |
For the "what's in it for me" answer, run your split against a realistic volume before you walk in. Our breakdown of how much ATM machines make shows the withdrawal ranges by venue type.
The follow-up cadence
Most placements are not signed on the first visit. A simple cadence:
- Day 0: walk-in, leave the one-pager.
- Day 1: the short email above.
- Day 3-5: second visit at the same time of day, agreement in hand.
- Day 10-14: one phone call. If it is still "not now", ask what would change their mind and when to check back.
- Every 60-90 days: a short check-in. Owners change, other operators disappear, and timing flips.
Here is an illustrative example of the numbers game. Keisha (illustrative, not a real operator) pulls 40 bars and cash-heavy venues across three ZIP codes and visits 15 of them over two weeks. Nine owners are not in on the first visit; she gets names and comes back. Four say no, two already have machines (she notes their contract dates), and three sign after the second or third touch. One of the three becomes her best machine; another is average; the third she moves after 90 days. Six months later, one of the "already have one" bars calls her because its operator stopped showing up on weekends.
If you would rather not draft the contract from scratch, we keep a plain-English walkthrough at get vending machine contracts. It covers term, commission, exclusivity and how either side gets out.
After the yes
Install when you said you would, show the staff how to reach you, and load it heavier than you think for the first weekend. An empty machine on the first Saturday is the fastest way to lose a placement you worked hard to win. Send the first month's statement on time, even if the check is small. The owners who trust you become your references for the next bar down the street, and that is how one placement turns into five.
If you also pitch vending, many of the same moves apply to property managers; our apartment vending pitch template covers that side.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best time to pitch an ATM to a bar owner?
Weekday afternoons, roughly 2 to 4 p.m. from Tuesday to Thursday, tend to work best because owners are often in for deliveries and the bar is quiet. Avoid Friday and Saturday nights entirely. If the owner is not there, get their name and the times they are usually in.
How much should I offer a bar owner for an ATM placement?
Common offers are a percentage of surcharge revenue, often somewhere between 20 and 50 percent, or a flat amount of roughly $0.50 to $1.00 per withdrawal. A tiered offer that rises with volume is easy to accept and protects you if the site is slow. Run the numbers for your surcharge and costs before you name a figure.
What do I say when a bar already has an ATM?
Ask how it is working, whether it is ever empty or down on busy nights, and when their current agreement ends. Write that date down and follow up a month before it. Operators who do not service their machines well lose placements, and being the local person who checked in can win the switch.
Should I cold email bar owners about ATM placement?
Email works better as a follow-up after an in-person visit than as a cold first message. Bar owners get a lot of vendor email and rarely sit at a desk. Walk in first, then send a short email summarizing the offer and attach the agreement.
How many bars do I need to pitch to get one ATM placement?
It varies widely by market and by how well you target, but many new operators find that a round of 15 or so in-person visits from a scored list yields a few placements after follow-ups. Pitching random bars without checking cash use and nearby ATMs lowers that ratio a lot.
The fastest way to test this in your own ZIP is the . Search once, see which businesses sit within a few miles, and reveal five contacts for nothing. It will not tell you who says yes, but it saves the afternoon you would spend building the list by hand.