ATMs Take on New Tasks Even as Their Numbers Decline

There’s still demand for ATMs even as their numbers are declining.

For example, workers who receive tips like to use the machines to get that cash into their accounts, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported Friday (March 3).

Cash remains the most used method for payments that are made in person and totals less than $25, according to the report.

In another use of ATMS, some are being equipped with remote videoconferencing capabilities so that customers can talk with a teller — without the bank having to maintain a branch — the report said.

Still, the number of ATMs in the United States dropped to 451,500 in 2022 after reaching its highest level of 470,000 in 2019, the report said, citing figures from Euromonitor International.

Among the trends contributing to the reversal is a plunge in the share of total payments made by cash or check, a move by consumers to make purchases with credit cards to earn points, and the ability to use payment apps to handle even transactions like split bills and tips, according to the report.

In addition, some banks are closing ATMs or limiting their hours of operation because of crime and vagrancy around those locations, the report said.

Recent news points to other ways ATMs are being used today.

In February, NCR said its ATMs would soon be in nearly every Walgreens location in the country following an expansion of its agreement with the pharmacy chain.

Many of these ATMs enable consumers to buy bitcoin or send and receive cash from various sources with a simple code, NCR said at the time.

In the United Kingdom, ATM cash withdrawals increased in 2022 after more than a decade of declines as consumers decided to use cash as a means of budgeting.

Many people find the tangible nature of cash easier to keep track of than purely electronic spending, building society Nationwide said when explaining the turnaround.

Grace Pace, senior vice president of digital banking at Quontic Bank, told PYMNTS in March 2022 that there’s still a place for ATMs.

“Until there’s no need for cash, that’s the only way customers have the ability to access real money in their hands when they’re digital banking customers,” Pace said at the time.