The SUM “Buddy” mascot reminds banking customers of the many conveniences of the SUM Program.

With a thick Boston accent greeting you at the automated teller machine, he helps withdraw your money, deposits your paycheck and can check your account balances all in one transaction at no extra charge.

No, it is not your local banker, it’s SUM “Buddy” – the SUM Network’s new cartoon automated teller machine mascot representing ATMs across New England in the Massachusetts Bankers Association’s effort to remind customers of the SUM Program conveniences.

At the beginning of 2003, the MBA began promoting SUM “Buddy” – a walking, talking, friendly ATM machine – in television ads, newspapers and through Internet advertising as a banner or pop-up advertisement – as part of its celebration of the SUM Program’s five-year anniversary.

“The SUM ‘Buddy’ campaign was developed because we needed to breathe new life in the brand, and according to our marketing and advertising team, you need to invest in the brand in order to grow with the brand,” said Bruce Spitzer, director of communications for the MBA. “At five years, we felt it was time … to make incentives to reach new customers and increase the service to SUM users.”

As part of the campaign, Spitzer said the animation department at the MBA put together ideas inspired by mascots and advertising initiatives from other banks and the SUM “Buddy” campaign was launched.

The SUM Program was formed five years ago by the MBA, with the help of the NYCE division of First Data Corp., and is now part of the NYCE Network and under NYCE ownership.

“We are extremely pleased that the program has been able to address and meet the needs of so many of our financial institutions,” said William Peirce, director of network services for NYCE, who confirmed that while the SUM Program began in New England, it is now the largest selective surcharge program in the country. “We are obviously interested in [the program’s] continued health and well-being. This grew from an idea five years ago to now include nearly a quarter of our customer base.”

The SUM Program, which officially will celebrate its five-year anniversary this October, continues to generate interest among banks throughout the nation, according to Spitzer.

‘Structured Scale’

The SUM Program was initiated by the MBA after legislation was proposed in the Massachusetts General Court that attempted to pass an anti-surcharge law. The legislation was defeated in Massachusetts, but there was concern that it would come up again; the MBA therefore developed SUM as a “free-market solution,” according to Spitzer.

Under the current SUM Program, dues are paid for by the banks participating in the program and are scaled by the percentage of machines a particular bank has registered in the SUM Network.

If a bank has 100 machines, 40 percent of its machines must be in the program. As the number of machines in the network decreases, the numbers of required machines for a bank to participate increases, thus raising the SUM Network dues.

Banks with 50 to 100 machines must have 50 percent of their machines registered as SUM, and for banks with one to 49 machines in the network there is a 60 percent participation requirement.

“The key is giving banks and credit unions the flexibility to SUM machines in the program, and leaving other machines out because of a structured scale we’ve produced,” said Spitzer.

In the era of bank buyouts and acquisitions, the SUM Network has proven beneficial to banks marking their territory in New England.

In an effort to increase consumer convenience during a time of acquisitions, Portland, Maine-based Banknorth Group joined the SUM Program when the company acquired Andover Savings Bank and MetroWest Bank, because both banks were currently part of the SUM Network.

“Banknorth in Maine made the decision to join the SUM Network as we acquired [other banks] and found out about all the members of the system,” said Maria Wilson, vice president of community relations at Banknorth in Massachusetts. “There is the 50 percent rule with the ATMs in the program and we were happy to give our customers that service.”

Wilson said part of the benefit of being a SUM member is that it generates new customers by using a Banknorth ATM.

“The program was never a big-bank vs. small-bank program and there are plenty of small banks who are members and choose to charge their customers at certain machines,” said Spitzer, referring to the surcharge fee given to non-customers using ATMs and a foreign fee that a bank charges for using another bank’s ATM.

Currently, there are 330 credit unions and banks in Massachusetts participating in the program, with a total of 1,840 SUM machines throughout the state and approximately 3,000 machines coast-to-coast in 20 states, including Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

The SUM “Buddy” character is currently owned by NYCE because of the SUM program mark, but Peirce said the MBA and Massachusetts Credit Union League regularly raise money and advertise for the program.

“After five years, we have seen a continuing growth in Massachusetts in terms of usage of the program and steady growth in the number of machines. And now, we started with ads and created an animated figure for the visual aspect of the program,” said Spitzer.

The SUM “Buddy” has a short life span in Internet advertising and electronic media and will only been seen popping up on Web sites and Internet banners for the remainder of the month.

But for all those customers who have found a friend in SUM “Buddy,” Spitzer noted that “it is not out of the question” that “Buddy” may return in the future as a mascot for the SUM Program.