Despite a concerted effort by four of Belgium’s largest banks, little has been done to turn the tide in the rapid disappearance of Belgium’s cashpoints (ATMs). Belgians complain that they are rapidly disappearing from city streets and even rural areas. Those that remain are often in bad condition or inaccessible.
Batopin ATMs, an initiative of Belfius, BNP Paribas Fortis, ING, and KBC, aims to roll out and rapidly expand a network of neutral ATMs across the country. This aims to tackle the shortage of cashpoints and eventually transform existing bank-owned cash points into neutral Batopin ATMs by 2024.
This new partnership aims to double the number of cashpoints at train stations; they are commonly installed within Brussels metro stations.
“The Batopin project will ensure that 95% of Belgians can access a cash point within five kilometres of their home, which is also the guideline applied by the European Central Bank (ECB). Batopin will realise this ambition by installing over 2,000 neutral ATMs at some 700 locations throughout Belgium,” a Batopin spokesperson told Le Soir.
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Citizens groups have generally complained of a rapid decline in the use of cash in Belgian society. With bank branches and cash points rapidly disappearing across the country, there are now 2 million Belgians without access to banking services. Financial group Financité has complained that banks are attempting to drastically reduce their service to customers.
Little progress on the ground
Although the Batopin project seeks to alleviate the shortage, it has so far fallen far short of targets. In an interview with RTBF, Pierre-Yves Dermagne, Minister of Economy and Labour said that the project had made little progress in Belgium.
“Cash dispensers continue to disappear at a growing rate,” he complained. To guarantee access to ATMs, the minister says he is actively negotiating with the banking sector.
If plans don't improve the situation quickly, Dermagne has promised a draft law to government partners by the end of March. The minister would like to see cash points across the country – every two kilometres in urban areas, three kilometres in the suburbs, and five kilometres in rural areas.
