The case of the disappearing ATMs In June of 2017 there were 13,814 bank-owned ATMs across the nation, but by June of 2022, there were just 6412 — a decline of 53 per cent. A recent report by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) showed 99 per cent of Australians lived within 15 kilometres of an ATM, as of June 2022.
Bank branches have been disappearing for decades due to shifts to online banking, but banks are now also removing their automated teller machines (ATMs). As consumers have been shifting away from using cash – a trend that grew during the Covid-19 pandemic – banks have closed ATMs to save money.
The huge adoption of digital payments - such as contactless cards or using smartphones on EFTPOS terminals - has seen a dramatic reduction in the number of customers accessing ATMs to withdraw cash.
The pandemic drove digital-payment surge for many, but those who depend on cash are feeling crunch. The number of automated teller machines has fallen every year since 2019.
That might lead you to think ATMs are becoming obsolete, at least in developed countries. But you'd be wrong. True to their roots as cutting-edge technologies, ATMs are evolving to meet the needs of today's financial institutions and their customers.
New right now. To get a sense of the first round of changes, look at the machines Chase is calling "eATMs." Present at more than 1,500 branches nationwide, these machines allow access through your mobile phone and effectively abolish the need to carry a debit card to withdraw cash.
Overall, the future of ATMs looks bright. While they may not be used as frequently as they once were, they will continue to be an important option for many people and will continue to evolve to meet the changing needs of customers.
More people are going cashless
The drop in ATMs come as customers increasingly embrace cashless transactions, and after the big four banks' abolition of withdrawal fees led to the industry consolidating them.
“There are a number of variations on the split, but the business earns money based on the surcharge transactions,” Carriere added. While businesses can make money through the fees, some business owners look for other ways to use ATMs to make money. One of the most common methods is by placing advertisements on the ATM.
The American Bankers Association puts the number at an even lower one crime for every 3.5 million transactions, or about 3,000 a year1. With consumers becoming more dependent on ATMs and the proliferation of ATM debit cards, computer crime in this area is more likely to increase.
A major Australian bank has canned over-the-counter cash transactions in some branch locations, in a move towards a cashless society. ANZ said it decided to scrap in-branch transactions as demand had halved in the past four years. WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: major bank scraps in-branch transactions.
There are over 31,000 ATMs in Australia, about half of which are bank-owned. The remaining ATMs are operated by other financial institutions such as credit unions, building societies and ATM deployers, and they will generally charge a fee to customers of banks.
If a bank goes bust in Australia, there will be a levy imposed on the industry to cover any shortfall in deposits that are above the $250,000 guarantee. Good bank regulators such as APRA ultimately face the curse of success.
The Internet is awash with predictions on when Australia will become a cashless society. Payment firm FIS predicts the nation could go 98 per cent cashless by 2024, while the Commonwealth Bank anticipates it might happen in 2026. However, cash experienced an unexpected revival during the COVID-19 pandemic.
ANZ, one of Australia's “Big Four” banks, will cease facilitating withdrawals and deposits from a number of its Australian branches as it looks to push its customers toward using an ever-dwindling number of ATMs and deposit machines.
Reports to a federal parliament economic committee show that Westpac had 1429 ATMs in 2020, 1644 fewer than the 3073 it had in 2015. The Commonwealth Bank (CBA) had 3822 in 2015 and 3019 in 2020. ANZ had 2616 in 2015 and 2105 in 2020. NAB shed 430 machines over the same period, leaving it with 949 in 2020.
As the owner of the ATM machine you are responsible for loading cash in the machine or having a 3rd party load cash into the machine. This cash is also paid back on a daily basis as customers pull cash from the ATM and deposited back into a bank account of your choosing.
This means if your ATM does 3 – 4 transactions per day you could earn between $180 and up to $360 or more per month. If your ATM falls in the average usage of 6 – 7 per day, and you charged $2.50 you would earn between $15 – $17.5 per day, at $3.00 you would earn over $20 per day or between $360 – $600 per month.
An average ATM machine costs $3,000. However, they can range anywhere between $2,000 - $8,000. Many factors influence the price, such as the level of banking services available, if it's freestanding or built-in, and whether or not it offers wireless technology.
Independently owned ATM brands and machines
Independent ATM network fees can vary between machines, even if they have the same branding. The fees for withdrawals and balance checks start from $2 but could be as high as $4 or $5.
To get it back, contact the exact branch or bank whose ATM you used as soon as they open. (Without your PIN the card should not be usable by anyone else, so the delay should not cause a security breach.) Cards left in the machine are eventually pulled back in for retrieval in the morning.
In some instances, a machine may need to be refilled daily. In other cases, a machine will only need to be refilled weekly or monthly. Regardless of the exact needs, the cash management service will have enough information about a particular ATM to develop a schedule for how often it needs to be refilled.
The lifespan of ATM equipment depends upon exposure to the elements and rapidity of new updates. However, you can expect a new ATM machine to last around 15 years. A well-refurbished ATM machine can last around ten years, all things considered.
ATM Market size is valued at USD 20.9 Billion in 2021, and it is anticipated to attain a value of USD 28.98 Billion by 2028, at a CAGR of 4.7% over the forecast period (2022-2028).
While ATM errors don't happen every day, when they do occur, the problems they create can be a headache if you have to wait for your checking account to be updated with the correct balances.