All but one of South Africa’s five largest banks reduced ATMs in their last reported interim financial periods, continuing a years-long trend in ATM cuts.
The traditional Big Four — Absa, FNB, Nedbank, and Standard Bank — closed a combined 233 ATMs in the first half of 2024.
The biggest cutters were Standard Bank and Absa, which shut down 76 and 75 ATMs, respectively. Nedbank followed with 42 and FNB with 40.
Capitec is the only major bank that has increased its number of ATMs.
According to its interim financials for the period from March to August 2024, Capitec increased its ATMs from 8,382 to 8,749 — a jump of 367.
However, it is important to note that a large chunk of this increase is likely not its own ATMs but those of partners like retailers.
The bank stopped reporting its own and partner ATMs separately from its 2023 annual results.
The last time it reported these figures separately was in its 2022 financial results, when it had a total of 7,178.
However, only 2,863 of these were its own ATMs, while 4,315 were partner locations.
It is not correct to count these partner sites as all the major banks also allow their customers to withdraw or deposit money at retailers, but don’t include those numbers in their financial results.
When it last reported data on its own and partner ATMs separately, about 40% of the total was its own ATMs.
However, unlike the other banks, Capitec’s own ATMs were increasing by the hundreds for several years before it stopped reporting the figures separately.
If the ratio of own-to-partner ATMs remained the same until last year, then it could have had around 3,490 of its own ATMs by the end of August 2024.
That would be 147 more than the estimated 3,343 it had at the beginning of the period.
The table below compares the changes in the number of ATMs operated by South Africa’s largest banks during their last reported interim financial periods.
| December 2023 or February 2024 | June 2024 or August 2024 | 6-month change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Absa | 5,250 | 5,175 | -75 |
| Capitec | 3,343* | 3,490* | +147 |
| FNB | 4,790 | 4,750 | -40 |
| Nedbank | 4,199 | 4,157 | -42 |
| Standard Bank | 3,548 | 3,472 | -76 |
| Total | 21,130 | 21,044 | -86 |
| *Estimated based on ratio of own-to-partner ATMs in 2022. | |||
According to the major banks, a myriad factors are driving the decline.
Firstly, Internet penetration has improved drastically, and smartphones have become more affordable.
Consequently, more South Africans have started using mobile banking apps to manage their accounts and perform transactions.
Secondly, the demand for cash has declined for several reasons.
The number of low-cost banking accounts has increased substantially since TymeBank came onto the scene in 2019.
In addition, point-of-sale devices and their commissions have become much more affordable with solutions like Yoco and iKhokha, making it easier for small businesses to switch from cash.
Scan-to-pay apps like Snapscan and Zapper have also made it possible for businesses to accept card payments without a card terminal.
While cash is undoubtedly still popular in South Africa, banks have increasingly partnered with grocery and other retailers to offer withdrawal and depositing services at their tills.
Lastly, as with many business trends in South Africa, crime has played a role.
Protecting and insuring ATMs against bombings by criminal syndicates costs banks millions of rand each year.
ATMs are also a soft target for installing card skimming devices and capturing PINs, which are used to clone cards and defraud banking customers.
In cases where it would not have been easy for a client to detect their card’s details had been skimmed or PIN stolen, it may fall on the bank to compensate them.
All but one of South Africa’s five largest banks reduced ATMs in their last reported interim financial periods, continuing a years-long trend in ATM cuts.
The traditional Big Four — Absa, FNB, Nedbank, and Standard Bank — closed a combined 233 ATMs in the first half of 2024.
The biggest cutters were Standard Bank and Absa, which shut down 76 and 75 ATMs, respectively. Nedbank followed with 42 and FNB with 40.
Capitec is the only major bank that has increased its number of ATMs.
According to its interim financials for the period from March to August 2024, Capitec increased its ATMs from 8,382 to 8,749 — a jump of 367.
However, it is important to note that a large chunk of this increase is likely not its own ATMs but those of partners like retailers.
The bank stopped reporting its own and partner ATMs separately from its 2023 annual results.
The last time it reported these figures separately was in its 2022 financial results, when it had a total of 7,178.
However, only 2,863 of these were its own ATMs, while 4,315 were partner locations.
It is not correct to count these partner sites as all the major banks also allow their customers to withdraw or deposit money at retailers, but don’t include those numbers in their financial results.
When it last reported data on its own and partner ATMs separately, about 40% of the total was its own ATMs.
However, unlike the other banks, Capitec’s own ATMs were increasing by the hundreds for several years before it stopped reporting the figures separately.
If the ratio of own-to-partner ATMs remained the same until last year, then it could have had around 3,490 of its own ATMs by the end of August 2024.
That would be 147 more than the estimated 3,343 it had at the beginning of the period.
The table below compares the changes in the number of ATMs operated by South Africa’s largest banks during their last reported interim financial periods.
| December 2023 or February 2024 | June 2024 or August 2024 | 6-month change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Absa | 5,250 | 5,175 | -75 |
| Capitec | 3,343* | 3,490* | +147 |
| FNB | 4,790 | 4,750 | -40 |
| Nedbank | 4,199 | 4,157 | -42 |
| Standard Bank | 3,548 | 3,472 | -76 |
| Total | 21,130 | 21,044 | -86 |
| *Estimated based on ratio of own-to-partner ATMs in 2022. | |||
According to the major banks, a myriad factors are driving the decline.
Firstly, Internet penetration has improved drastically, and smartphones have become more affordable.
Consequently, more South Africans have started using mobile banking apps to manage their accounts and perform transactions.
Secondly, the demand for cash has declined for several reasons.
The number of low-cost banking accounts has increased substantially since TymeBank came onto the scene in 2019.
In addition, point-of-sale devices and their commissions have become much more affordable with solutions like Yoco and iKhokha, making it easier for small businesses to switch from cash.
Scan-to-pay apps like Snapscan and Zapper have also made it possible for businesses to accept card payments without a card terminal.
While cash is undoubtedly still popular in South Africa, banks have increasingly partnered with grocery and other retailers to offer withdrawal and depositing services at their tills.
Lastly, as with many business trends in South Africa, crime has played a role.
Protecting and insuring ATMs against bombings by criminal syndicates costs banks millions of rand each year.
ATMs are also a soft target for installing card skimming devices and capturing PINs, which are used to clone cards and defraud banking customers.
In cases where it would not have been easy for a client to detect their card’s details had been skimmed or PIN stolen, it may fall on the bank to compensate them.
Source: mybroadband.co.za
