Despite commitments from the Federal Government to help protect the role of cash in Belgian society, there will still be 1,140 fewer ATMs in Belgium, Le Soir reports, citing data from the “Batopin” project.
On Friday evening, the government of Alexander De Croo and financial sector federation Febelfin came to a non-binding agreement to urge banks to maintain a “satisfactory” number of ATMs across the country. Under the Batopoin project, four of Belgium’s biggest banks (BNP Paribas Fortis, KBC, Belfius, and ING), new “neutral” ATMs are being installed across the country in a bid to slow the decline of the ATM.
Withdrawing cash in Belgium has become notoriously difficult in recent years. The National Bank of Belgium (NBB) estimated in 2021 there were 5,933 ATMs in the country. This has since shrunk to 5,199 at the end of last year. According to projects by leading Belgian banks and the Jofico consortium, the will drop even further to 3,774 in 2025, despite the plans to roll out new cashpoints under the Batopin name.
The banks plan to add an additional 287 note dispensers in 2025, bringing the total number of machines maintained or replaced to 4,061 in the long term. In real terms, Belgium will still lose over 1,000 ATMs in the coming years.
While government ministers state that they have help stem the tide on the disappearance of ATMs, other groups deplore the persistent decline in cash withdrawals. Consumer group Test Achats, alongside Okra and Financité, are demanding that there should be at least 5,900 ATMs in Belgium. The groups hope to enact a 95% coverage rates, meaning that the vast majority of the population can access an ATM within 2.5 kilometres of their homes.
While the agreement made between banks and the government set some assurance of ATM network coverage, Test Achats is concerned that there are no “clear commitments” from the banking sector to live up to their promises. One petition recently collected 17,500 signatures protesting against declining access to cash.
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In March, Pierre-Yves Dermagne, Minister of Economy and Labour, complained that the Batopin project had failed to get off the ground. "Cash dispensers continue to disappear at a growing rate," he remarked.
Under the new agreement struck between the government and the banking sector, most major banks will commit to providing 24 free withdrawals per year from any ATM. This too is non-binding, but will run until 2027.
