In 1967 the American company NCR introduced the world’s first ATM. For thousands of Americans, having to go through the window to withdraw money from their bank account was over. Over the years, ATMs have gone from being anecdotal to becoming part of our urban landscape. But now, almost fifty years after the first, his role is beginning to be called into question.
First of all, because we have become used to using less and less cash. Following the trend of countries like the United Kingdom, in Spain it has ceased to be frowned upon to pay for a hamburger, some beer or a simple coffee with a credit card. The introduction of contactless technology streamlines payments and in a way, we have lost that sense of “shame” when making small card transactions.
We are not just saying it. A recent study developed by ING Direct ensures that 56% of Spaniards have reduced their use of cash in the last year. The Spanish are in this sense, only behind the Turks, Poles and Italians, the three countries that least depended on notes and coins during the last year. And according to the same report, the trend is going to go further.
On the other hand, we have the slow but steady take-off of mobile payments. The arrival of Apple Pay in Europe and the development of many of its alternatives (Android Pay, Samsung Pay, Microsoft Payments, PayPal, etc.) are already beginning to impact retail. In fact, last week we told you at MuyPymes how our experience had been when paying with our mobile phone .
And mobile payment is not limited to NFC. Taking movie tickets from the App itself, paying at a fast food establishment from the local webapp and, in general, the deployment of mobile e-commerce, are contributing to the fact that we have less and less “loose money” in our portfolio.
With these data, one of the conclusions that we could easily reach is that ATMs have their days numbered. But that’s how it is? If we look at the figures that Quartz magazine offers us for example, we might think that the thing is not so obvious. In 2014, 40% of payments made by American users continued to be in cash. And yet the most interesting thing is that 66% of the payments that were made with a credit card were worth less than a dollar.
More bills than ever
But this perception that many users have, could be completely wrong. Today, according to the ECB, there are twice as many euro banknotes in circulation as when the single currency was launched . It is true that it can be explained because the number of countries that have switched to the euro has increased and that throughout these years, the European currency has grown in importance and popularity, but it is a fact to take into account.
But also, as the CEO of Diebold (manufacturer of ATMs) explains, the number of dollars has also doubled compared to those in circulation 20 years ago, perhaps indicating that although we appreciate the use of new technologies, it continues liking having money in our pockets.
What has changed rapidly is the role that the ATM is playing in many societies where Internet penetration is not as high as in Europe or the United States. In many Latin American countries, for example, the ATM is in addition to a money dispenser, a point at which users can pay bills for electricity, water, telephone, etc. or get tickets for all kinds of events.
But it does not only happen in emerging countries. In Spain ATMs are still an alternative for buying and collecting tickets, in the UK they are very popular when it comes to recharging the phone balance or making donations to different NGOs and in Switzerland users can use them to open a bank account.
What seems evident, as the ING report assures again, is that we Spaniards step on bank offices less and less. In fact, one in three assures that they have not visited an office for more than six months. Cashiers in this sense, have to take good note and reinvent themselves, or the future that awaits them is not going to be especially hopeful.
