Cash is getting harder to come by. A large operator has already started dismantling more than 300 ATMs
The Euronet network will eliminate around 330 ATMs by the end of the year. The reasons for this decision do not indicate a lower interest in cash, although this probably had an impact on the business decision. ATMs are disappearing rapidly: in the first quarter of 2024 alone, their number fell by over a thousand.
Just ten years ago, ATMs were located on all major streets and near popular shops. You could easily find a machine from “your” bank, and withdrawals were commonplace. This has changed, because apart from episodes in which Poles wanted to have cash (as was the case during the pandemic, when some ATMs simply ran out of banknotes), card and Blik payments are winning here.
How many ATMs are there in Poland?
As a result, in the first quarter of 2024 alone, the number of ATMs in Poland fell by over a thousand, and further cuts are already planned. The National Bank of Poland reported that at the end of March this year, there were 20,869 ATMs, which means a decrease of 1,200 devices compared to the end of 2023.
And there will be even fewer of them. Euronet alone has announced that it will eliminate around 330 ATMs by the end of the year.
– Currently, in the ATM services market, we are dealing with exceptionally high financial barriers to running a business. A serious challenge for independent ATM networks remains the constantly growing costs of servicing ATMs, while the interchange fee for cash withdrawals is low and unchanged for years – said Marek Szafirski, CEO of Euronet Polska, in an interview with the Bankier service.
He pointed to the omission of ATM operators Visa, Mastercard and Blik, which did not adjust the system of charging fees for cash withdrawal transactions to a level that took into account the real costs of providing this service.
Euronet has already begun the process of dismantling unprofitable ATMs. By the end of the year, the company will eliminate about 330 devices. “If market conditions change, Euronet is open to further investments and increasing the number of devices,” the company’s president assured.
