With the term Bancomat we usually indicate both the ATM used for withdrawing (but not limited to) cash, but also any related operation, which can be carried out through the magnetic card: with the diffusion of debit and prepaid cards, as well as the ATMs themselves a phase of profound change is increasingly evident, which has led liquid money to be considered “obsolete”.
Progressive dips
The number of ATMs in our country has been in sharp decline for about a decade and the numbers testify to this: from 2016 to 2020 there was a decline of 6.9%, i.e. it went from 36,754 to 34,204 units, a decrease that it is even more important as regards the bank branches which in the same period are almost 20% less.
The motivation is very simple, relating to costs: for most credit institutions it is no longer convenient to remain so “physically” active in the area, in the face of an increasingly important increase in banking operations that can be carried out independently, especially through operations Of home banking.
Official farewell to all ATMs: how do you withdraw money now?
This is also partially due to an ever-decreasing use of cash to make it even less necessary to withdraw, especially as regards large sums: the limit for withdrawal and payments with cash has been progressively reduced almost every year (currently it is 2000 eurobut in 2023 it will be halved), which means fewer ATMs due to less need than in the past.
It is very likely that the farewell to the traditional collection is not so close but it appears less and less a “strangeness”, but rather the natural conclusion of a process that began several years ago.
This will lead to a probable increase in commission costs during withdrawal operations, for the same reason that led to the gradual closure of branches, i.e. the costs, which are too high for banking institutions.
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