# Banking and ATMs

URL: https://docs.bithuman.ai/deploy/use-cases/banking-and-atms

> Run an always-on avatar on a branch screen, teller terminal or ATM: the avatar handles the conversation, card handling and transactions stay in your systems. Hardware, data flows, operations and cost.

An avatar on a branch screen, a teller terminal or an ATM greets customers, answers questions and walks them through a task. The avatar handles the conversation; card handling and transactions stay in your systems.

## Where it runs

| Terminal | How the avatar renders |
|---|---|
| A Linux PC or terminal, x86_64 or arm64, with no GPU | the CLI or the Python SDK render it on the CPU ([CPU only (no GPU)](https://docs.bithuman.ai/deploy/cpu)) |
| An Android terminal (arm64) | the Android SDK renders it inside your app ([Android](https://docs.bithuman.ai/platforms/android)) |
| Screens fed from your own servers | the CLI, the Python SDK or the LiveKit plugin on your Mac or Linux machines ([Your servers](https://docs.bithuman.ai/deploy/self-hosted)) |
| Windows-based terminals | [talk to us](https://www.bithuman.ai/sales) |

How fast each model renders on a standard desktop CPU: [Performance](https://docs.bithuman.ai/performance).

## What reaches bitHuman

| Question | CPU only (no GPU) |
|---|---|
| Where the avatar renders | on a standard Linux PC's CPU, with no GPU |
| Where the conversation runs | your choice: the CLI's local conversation brain, your own services, or bitHuman's |
| What reaches bitHuman | a credential check, the avatar download, and usage reports with no audio, video or text |
| Network | to start; rendering continues through a drop of up to 5 minutes |

Usage reports contain no audio, video, images or conversation text, and self-hosted sessions store no transcript at bitHuman. Every mode: [Data flows & privacy](https://docs.bithuman.ai/deploy/privacy).

## The conversation

- **On the terminal:** the CLI's [local conversation brain](https://docs.bithuman.ai/platforms/cli/local-brain) (`BITHUMAN_LOCAL=1`) runs speech recognition, the language model and the voice on the machine. Audio, transcripts and generated speech never leave it; the session still reports usage online.
- **Your own model:** any OpenAI-compatible endpoint works, including one inside your own network ([Providers](https://docs.bithuman.ai/api/providers)).
- **Your own systems:** account data and transactions stay in the services you already run. The avatar speaks what your conversation layer gives it.

## No internet at the site

A site with no internet runs [Fully offline](https://docs.bithuman.ai/deploy/offline), on the Business and Enterprise plans. The models it covers:

| Model | Fully offline | How |
|---|---|---|
| [Essence 2](https://docs.bithuman.ai/models/essence-2) | — | Coming later |
| [Expression 2](https://docs.bithuman.ai/models/expression-2) | — | Coming later |
| [Essence 1](https://docs.bithuman.ai/models/first-generation#essence-1) | Yes | Linux x86_64 and ARM64, bitHuman 2.11.16 or later; Business & Enterprise |
| [Expression 1](https://docs.bithuman.ai/models/first-generation#expression-1) | — |  |

Creating the avatar from a portrait happens in the bitHuman cloud; the finished avatar model then runs on your machines.

## Run it all day

- **One API secret per terminal**, so you can revoke one without touching the rest ([API secrets](https://www.bithuman.ai/developer/api-keys)).
- **Download the avatar before opening:** `bithuman pull $AGENT_CODE`, then start it at boot from a service that restarts it if it exits, and show it full screen ([Kiosk on a Linux PC](https://docs.bithuman.ai/build/kiosk)).
- **Network drops:** a session checks your API secret when it starts and keeps rendering through a network drop of up to 5 minutes.
- **Session length:** a self-hosted session runs for up to 7 days, then ends with `403 SESSION_DURATION_LIMIT`; start a new one ([Rate limits](https://docs.bithuman.ai/api/rate-limits#session-concurrency)).

## What it costs

2 credits per minute of active session time for Essence 2 and Expression 2, about $0.02 a minute at the top-up rate of $1 = 100 credits. Realtime usage bills active session time, talking or idle, to the second. Every rate: [Pricing and credits](https://docs.bithuman.ai/pricing).

A session bills while it runs, talking or idle, so close it when the branch closes.

## Agreements

Healthcare and financial-services deployments are set up under an enterprise agreement and review. [Contact sales](https://www.bithuman.ai/sales) to start one.