How much does a ATM Route cost to buy?

A typical ATM Route sells for 1.5x to 2x seller's discretionary earnings. With estimated SDE of $20K, expect to pay roughly $30K to $40K before adjustments for assets, debt, growth, and local market quality.

How much does it cost to start a ATM Route?

Startup costs range from $5K to $30K depending on location, equipment, and scale.

Route

ATM Route

Q: What are the profit margins for a ATM Route?

The average profit margin for a ATM Route is around 50%. Processing fees per transaction, vault cash opportunity cost, machine maintenance, insurance, and fuel for route visits.

Your machines dispense cash — and collect fees

Bottom line

Strong cash-flow candidate with manageable operations.

ATM route businesses place automated teller machines in convenience stores, bars, restaurants, and other high-traffic locations. Revenue comes from surcharge fees collected on each transaction. The model is passive between cash-loading visits and scales by adding more machines to the route.

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Acquisition score

Strong

Avg Revenue

$40K

Profit Margin

50%

Acquisition Multiple

1.5x - 2x

Startup Cost

$5K - $30K

How It Works

Place ATM machines in locations where people need cash (bars, restaurants, convenience stores). You own the machine and load it with your own cash. When someone withdraws, they pay a surcharge fee ($2.50-$3.50 typically). You keep most of the surcharge, minus a small processor fee. Cash is recycled as the float returns to your bank account.

Revenue Range

Low End

$15K

Typical

$40K

High End

$100K

BizBite underwriting snapshot

Watch / verify

ATM Route has enough high-level data for a first look, but BizBite has not assigned a category-specific operating model yet. Treat the score as preliminary.

Speculative / 100

Data confidence

medium

52/100

Financing fit

medium

Category-level fit before lender-specific diligence.

Confidence cap

Weak source data caps the final score.

Why it may work

+Attractive 50% estimated margin profile
+SBA dataset shows 7 recent comparable loans

Be careful

!Source link status has not been verified yet
!No last-checked date yet
!No category operating model yet
!No category model yet

Real Acquisitions in This Category

SBA 7(a) change-of-ownership loans · NAICS 522320 · Financial Transactions Processing, Reserve, and Clearinghouse Activities

Deals tracked

7 in last 24 mo

Median loan

$939K

$280K–$1.2M p25/p75

Implied deal size

$1.1M

median · ~85% LTV

Charge-off rate

—

not enough resolved loans

Deal Size Distribution

<$150K

$150K–500K

$500K–1M

$1M–2M

>$2M

Deal Flow Over Time

12-month momentum

-83.3%

deal volume vs prior 12 mo

Median loan Δ

-90.0%

1 recent · 6 prior

Financing Profile

Median rate

10.50%

0% fixed · last 24 mo

Median term

120 mo

standard 10-yr

Collateralized

of loans secured

Median jobs

2.5

supported per deal

Top lenders in this space

The Huntington National Bank2

Northwest Bank1

T Bank, National Association1

Zions Bank, A Division of1

Live Oak Banking Company1

Where deals happen

WI2

OH2

WA1

NJ1

AZ1

CO1

IL1

NC1

Recent Comparable Deals

Closed	State	Loan	Implied deal	Jobs	Franchise
Sep 2025	AZ	$119K	$140K	2	—
Apr 2025	CO	$707K	$832K	2	—
Mar 2025	OH	$1.2M	$1.4M	4	—
Jan 2025	OH	$3.2M	$3.8M	15	—
Jun 2024	WI	$1.2M	$1.4M	—	—
Jun 2024	WI	$20K	$24K	—	—
Jun 2024	NJ	$1.4M	$1.6M	3	—
May 2023	NC	$510K	$600K	3	—
Jun 2022	IL	$1.7M	$2.0M	2	—
Apr 2021	WA	$280K	$329K	2	—

Volume rank #380/544Deal-size rank #168/544Momentum rank #371p90 loan: $1.7MData as of Mar 2026

Source: SBA 7(a) FOIA dataset, filtered to acquisitions (loans where business age is "Change of Ownership"). Implied deal size assumes an 85% loan-to-purchase ratio, a common SBA change-of-ownership structure. Charge-off rate shown only when 10+ loans have resolved (paid in full or charged off). Interest rates reflect last 24 months only. Actual deal values vary with equity injections, seller financing, and working capital terms.

Pros

+Very high margins — surcharges are mostly profit
+Passive income between cash-loading visits
+Low startup cost per machine ($2K-$5K each)
+Simple business model with minimal moving parts

Cons

-Cash handling creates security risks
-Declining cash usage in some markets
-Must maintain cash float in each machine

Best For

Passive income seekers comfortable with cash handling logistics

Operating Costs

Processing fees per transaction, vault cash opportunity cost, machine maintenance, insurance, and fuel for route visits.

SBA Financing Estimator

Adjust the deal — see if it cash flows after debt service

+$290/mo

after debt service

Deal price — $120K

Range: $40K (1.5×) to $120K (2×+)

Down payment — 15% ($18K)

SBA minimum equity injection is 10% for change-of-ownership

Interest rate — 10.50%

SBA median for this category: 10.5%

Loan term — 10 years (120 mo)

SBA median for this category: 120 months

Down payment

$18K

15% equity injection

Loan amount

$102K

85% SBA-financed

Monthly payment

$1K/mo

$63K total interest

Monthly profit

$2K/mo

at 50% margin

Monthly cash flow after debt service

+$290/mo

Down payment paid back in ~62 months

Estimates only. Excludes owner compensation, capex, working capital draws, and taxes. Margin assumes average occupancy and volume. Actual SBA terms vary by lender and borrower profile.