Where have all the ATMs gone?
Bank-owned ATMs in New Zealand are rapidly disappearing as banks respond to declining cash usage and rising operational costs. While some machines are being replaced by third-party providers, the overall trend reflects a broader shift toward digital banking and a cashless society.
Why it matters
The decline of physical banking infrastructure impacts financial inclusion for populations that still rely on cash for daily transactions.
If you have looked for somewhere to get cash out recently, you might have noticed a change - many bank-owned ATMs have vanished.
Sometimes they been replaced with non-bank options, which can cost $2.50 per withdrawal, and sometimes they have been removed completely.
The country's largest bank ANZ said it has reduced its ATM numbers by 85 in the past two years. In all but 10 cases, the contract for the site was given to another provider.
Westpac said its number had dropped by 54 over the same period.
The Reserve Bank said the number of bank branches around the country was down by 40 percent and the number of bank-owned ATMs had dropped 32 percent over the past decade. Between 2012 and 2017, total ATM numbers fell by 14.7 percent per million people.
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