Banks are continuing to cut the number of cash points (ATMs) across the country despite criticism from the Federal Government and citizens.
Belgium is a leading nation when it comes to digital payments and is among the frontrunners in the change towards a cashless society, but this has also likely contributed to a drop in cash points, as cards have overtaken cash as a means of payment.
No other country in Europe has so many complaints about the (lack of) ATMs than Belgium, with the disappearance of cash machines being a clear source of frustration. In light of the need for more bank machines, the Federal Government entered into an agreement with the financial sector in March to maintain the number of ATMs, agreeing that there should be at least one ATM in every municipality by 2025.
It hoped to reach this goal in part through the Batopin ATM initiative, organised by Belgium's four largest banks (Belfius, BNP Paribas Fortis, ING, and KBC), which aims to roll out and rapidly expand a network of neutral ATMs across the country. This would eventually see existing bank-owned cash points being transformed into neutral Batopin ATMs by 2024.
But banks continue to scrap ATMs at a faster pace, according to a data analysis by De Tijd. Looking at the net total, there are 376 fewer cash points today than a year ago. At the end of July, there were all together still 3,049 locations with at least one ATM available. In the summer of 2022, there were still over 3,400.
ING leading the pack
At Belfius, KBC, BNP Paribas Fortis and ING, all together just over 500 locations where there was an ATM under their own name disappeared, accounting for a drop of just under 30% in a year. ING takes the crown after having scrapped more than half of its ATMs.
In 24 municipalities across Belgium there are no ATMs, while in 122 municipalities, the four major banks are absent. At the level of the municipalities, the uneven distribution manifests itself even more. This has highlighted that the goal of "one cash machine in every municipality" is still a distant, almost unattainable goal.
De Tijd's analysis showed that some local governments are taking the initiative themselves to fill the gaps. Wevelgem in West Flanders was the first municipality in Belgium to provide a self-service vending machine in the centre of Moorsele borough at the end of July, as residents begged for a new cash points after the last one disappeared in September 2022. In just three days, it collected more than €47,000.
Not only the number of cash points, but also the number of bank branches has dropped compared to last summer. Of the 4,207 branches which were open exactly a year ago, 3,862 remain, a drop of over 8%. Only Bpost's branch network did not shrink.
