ATM Sharp Decline, Regional Disparities Increase... Bank of Korea and Financial Services Commission to Address Issues

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Eun-byeol] As the number of automated teller machines (ATMs) rapidly decreases and regional distribution disparities widen, the Bank of Korea and the Financial Services Commission have stepped in to address the issue. This is because there are concerns that elderly people, who are still more accustomed to cash during the digital transition of payment methods, may face difficulties due to the reduction of ATMs.

According to the Bank of Korea on the 11th, the number of bank ATMs was 55,800 units (provisional) in 2019, continuously decreasing since the peak record of 70,100 units at the end of 2013. Approximately 14,000 ATMs disappeared over six years.

In this situation, since each bank operates ATMs independently without interbank cooperation, regional disparities are severe. Half of the domestic ATMs are concentrated in the metropolitan area, and when considering the number of ATMs per unit area (1㎢, radius about 560m), Seoul (about 36 units) has more than 100 times the number of ATMs compared to Gangwon, Gyeongbuk, and Jeonnam (0.3 to 0.4 units).

Accordingly, the Bank of Korea and the Financial Services Commission plan to start a CD (cash dispenser) shared network maintenance and data standardization project this year in the second half, collecting and managing ATM installation information through consultations with the banking sector. Next year, based on the collected information, they will also promote the construction of an ATM database (DB) and the development of an app. This app will be a customer ATM information provision app jointly developed by banks to allow consumers easy access to ATM location information when needed.

Furthermore, the Bank of Korea plans to cooperate with related organizations and distribution businesses to activate alternative means to ATMs, such as merchant cash withdrawal services and change (small change) account deposit services. The cash withdrawal service allows consumers to pay the purchase price plus the desired withdrawal amount at stores and receive the difference between the payment amount and the purchase price in cash (limit of 100,000 KRW per transaction and per day). Currently, this service is available at convenience stores CU and Emart24.

The change account deposit service allows consumers to receive change into their bank accounts (limit of 10,000 KRW per transaction and 100,000 KRW per day) via cash cards (including mobile cards) when paying for goods in cash at stores. Convenience store Ministop is scheduled to start this service at the end of this month, and Hyundai Department Store and Emart24 are also expected to introduce it in the second half of the year.

An official from the Bank of Korea stated, "Measures to prevent the rapid decrease of ATMs will be reviewed mainly by banks under the Financial Inclusion Committee under the Financial Informatization Promotion Council, which includes the Bank of Korea, utilizing the established DB. If necessary, other stakeholders such as VAN (Value Added Network) companies may also participate in the discussions."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.