The ATM Industry Association predicted there would be 3 million ATMs across the globe by 2015 and the total number of withdrawals of cash from ATMs globally would rise to above 8.6 billion per year
The international association, headquartered in Sioux Falls, S.D., and London pointed to research conducted by RBR, a London-based financial consulting firm that specializes in payments, for its numbers.
Among other things, RBR forecast the volume of global cash withdrawals from ATMs would increase by 7.9% per year from 2011 to 2017. The ATMIA reported the global volume of monthly cash withdrawals at ATMs was 2.8 billion in 2000 and forecast it would rise to 8.6 billion withdrawals per month by 2015.
For the U.S. and North America, RBR's research showed the U.S. had 420,000 ATMs in 2009 and Canada had 58,217 but the number had risen to 481,000 together in 2010. RBR forecast the number of ATMs in Canada and the U.S. together to increase to 498,750 by 2015.
ATMIA drew upon these statistics to strengthen a call on governments around the world to maintain their commitment to cash.
“But it is not just the longevity and continuing popularity of cash which underlie its critical role in society and the economy. It is its nature as a public source of money,” the association wrote in a position paper. “Cash is produced and governed by central banks accountable both to the government's fiscal policies and systems and to the electorate.”
ATMIA called cash part of the social contract between a nation's population and its government, observing that government entities responsible to an electorate control cash whereas for-profit organizations like the major card brands control plastic forms of debit and credit.
“In public discussions about payments, regulators should never lose sight of the fact that cash is part of the commonwealth of society and should be wary at all times of vested commercial interests conducting campaigns to eradicate cash,” the ATMIA wrote.
Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to CUTimes.com, part of your ALM digital membership.
Your access to unlimited CUTimes.com content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking credit union news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Shared Accounts podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the commercial real estate and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, GlobeSt.com and ThinkAdvisor.com
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
