With 161 new ATMs to be installed during 2023, Barcelona will combat its shortage, so that by the end of the year there will be 11% more than now.
The City Council promotes the installation in different places such as newsstands, subway stations and some markets.
This is excellent news for people who have some difficulty in completing online procedures, especially the elderly.
Of these 161 ATMs, 81 were installed last year. The remaining 80 will be commissioned during 2023.
By the end of 2022, there were 717 ATMs.
This boost to banking is done to solve the problem that the neighborhoods of large cities have in what is known as “banking desertification”.
In fact, by 2018 in Barcelona there were 1,214 ATMs (69.3% more than in 2022).
The City Council informed that it is already taking steps with the aim of holding a tender in 2023 to equip municipal facilities with ATMs.
Municipal markets with ATMs
During this month, pilot tests have been carried out to install four ATMs in four municipal markets (Besòs, Sants, La Llibertat and Sant Antoni).
This initiative arose from an agreement between the Institut Municipal de Mercats de Barcelona, IMMB and Banco Santander.
Automatic terminals allow cash withdrawals as well as deposits to bank accounts. In this way, traders do not need to leave the premises to carry out these operations.
To complement the service, there are also plans to install dispensers to exchange banknotes for cash.
The pilot test will last for one year and, depending on the results obtained, it will be feasible to extend the installation of the ATMs to other markets.
Where will the new ATMs be installed?
Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona, TMB, plans to install during the first half of 2023, 11 new terminals at metro stations in: Sant Andreu (L1), Mercat Nou (L1), Pompeu Fabra (L2), Roquetes (L3), Canyelles (L3), , Cornellà Centre (L5), Alfons X (L4), , Trinitat Nova (L4), Ernest Lluch (L5), Vall d’Hebron (L5), Coll Teixonera (L5).
In the newsstands that will now also sell coffee and other services, 60 terminals were put into operation during 2022 and 65 more are expected to be installed this year.
The goal is that people will not have to walk more than 15 minutes to withdraw cash. It is risky, unfair and annoying.
Accessibility to cash should be a citizen’s right.
Therefore, the new ATMs are part of a municipal strategy for access to banking services.
The goal is to reduce the banking gap and easy access to financial services in the city.
The strategy also includes offering advice to people with complaints and financial education.
