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Bloomberg
In the wake of the economic crisis, Paul Volcker called automated teller machines the last financial innovation that improved society. A decade later, their popularity is slipping.
The number of ATMs around the world fell for the first time last year as banks closed branches and redirected resources towards digital payments, consulting firm RBR said in a study released. Declines in four of the world’s five largest markets — China, the US, Japan and Brazil — drove the 1 percent drop in ATMs in 2018. In the fifth, India, “growth slowed considerably,†London-based RBR said.
Bank customers are increasingly turning to their mobile phones for routine financial services, and moving away from cash in favour of credit and debit cards. JPMorgan Chase & Co., the biggest US bank, cut back its branches by 2 percent last year while earmarking $10.8 billion for technology. The lender saw a 5 percent increase in active digital customers, and an 11 percent gain in active mobile customers.