ATM Counts Slip in the U.S., Canada, and China, New Study Shows

Led by the removal of 30,000 ATMs in China, the number of ATMs worldwide fell by 15,000 units, or 0.5%, in 2019 to 3.23 million machines from 3.25 million in 2018, according to new findings from London-based research firm RBR.

The United States and Canada also saw declines in their ATM counts, RBR’s “Global ATM Market and Forecasts to 2025” report says. The U.S. had 431,500 ATMs last year, 1,000 fewer than in 2018, for a decline of 0.2%. Canada’s ATM count fell by 1.4% to 67,660 from 68,591 in 2018.

“In both countries, key drivers for the decline in ATM numbers are bank branch closures and consolidation among non-bank deployers,” RBR researcher Rowan Berridge tells Digital Transactions News by email.

ATMs fleets also are being scaled back in many Western European countries as digital banking and non-cash payments expand. “The Netherlands, for example, saw one of the steepest declines, as the three largest banks pooled their ATMs and removed those located close to one another,” RBR said in a news release.

China still has a huge ATM fleet—an estimated 660,000 units versus 690,000 in 2018. The country’s well-documented path toward a less cash-dependent society includes explosive growth of its mobile-payment services. “As the country’s migration towards alternative payments erodes demand for cash,” fewer ATMs are the result, according to RBR.

Factor out China, however, and the rest of the world’s ATM count increased by 15,000 to 2.57 million at the end of 2019 from 2.56 million the year before. “Almost half of the major markets which the report examined in detail saw an increase in ATM numbers, as did the majority of smaller markets. The biggest rise was experienced by China’s neighbor, India, which actually saw its fastest growth since 2016, adding over 7,000 units,” according to the release.

Egypt is another of the world’s fastest-growing ATM markets, with an 11% increase last year. “Like India, Egypt has a large unbanked population, and financial-inclusion measures are a key driver of ATM growth,” the release says. “This pattern of ATMs as a tool to bring financial services to new customers is playing out in markets across Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and Africa, and also Latin America, often spurred on and supported by national banking authorities.”

The business slowdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic will cause a “temporary drop” in some ATM growth markets this year, but the pandemic won’t change long-term trends, RBR predicts. “The total number of ATMs worldwide is forecast to continue falling because of declines in several larger markets, but the rate of decline will be slow, and most countries should still see ATM numbers going up between now and 2025,” the firm said.