The ATM revolution: “store withdrawals”

The Italian Antitrust Authority announced last December that it would pursue a procedure related to the service Cash withdrawal At ATMs (ATM).

Among the novelties, there was also the application of a commission that was set independently by the bank that owns the branch so as to eliminate the exchange fee. However, a step has been taken, as previously shown in one of our articles, to discourage the use of cash in favor of electronic payments. They are several bank giants who plan to shut down their automated teller machines permanently, led by the Ing group (Conto Arancio).

However, the big news, as announced by Alessandro Zulu, CEO of Bancomat, at MF-Milano Finanza is: “If those who provide money can be paid for the service they provide, the POS can be used backwards, not to pay but to provide cash. There will be more regional coverage in favor of the end users.” In other words, if the proposal is approved, you can withdraw cash by going to any store that has joined the Bancomat circuit and doing so through POS. It is this solution in Great Britain that has become mandatory due to the lack of use of ATMs.

Towards the end of the month, the antitrust should govern but this is nothing more than the last step of one Counter-revolution ATM. “Despite efforts to encourage consumers to use cards, cash payment is still pivotal in Italy and Europe, both between points of sale and between individuals. In Italy, more than 8 out of 10 transactions are made in cash.”– Zulu explains and adds – “About 75% of withdrawals, for about 600 million, are made at the ATMs of the bank that issued the card, and therefore they do not involve commissions. ”

This means that the problem is with the bank’s customers who withdraw from other institutions at 25% and whose economic value is 150 million. “In this type of withdrawal, the cardholder’s bank pays 0.49 euros to the bank of the ATM. At this stage, the customer can pay the commission stipulated in the contract stipulated with his institution.” Ranging from 0 to 3 euros. The real problem, however, is that the costs of saving cash are no longer sustainable. Those who give the money collect only 0.49 € per transaction, which is not enough to offset the maintenance costs. Starting with this, the proposal is designed to make the customer pay only those who have a cost, i.e. the institution providing cash.

Another important change is that of the cost “Pre-announced and transparent”. In France, the commission was increased from 0.54 to 0.89 but this is not the case in Italy. Bancomat, he says, wants to make the ATM cost sustainable without affecting costs on customers.