970 cash points by the end of 2025
As a reminder, the four major Belgian banks created, in 2019, the joint venture Batopin, called upon to manage the network of ATMs. Under pressure from Test-Achats, Financité and Okra (an association for seniors active in Brussels and Flanders), it has already had to review its copy in the past, especially in the south of the country where certain localities were particularly poorly served. Could the latest SPACE study force it, once again, to review its plans? This seems unlikely, if not impossible. Questioned by us, Batopin acknowledges that discontent remains “pupil” but adds that this dissatisfaction is “decreasing” compared to 2022. The company says it is convinced that “the rapid increase in cash points has a positive influence on perception and will continue to do so“.
Batopin aims for 970 Cash points by the end of 2025: “On average, a new Cash point is opened in the country every working day” (Map)
In 2024, Batopin installed 200 new cash points, for a total of 580. The goal is to reach the known figure of 970 cash points by the end of 2025, for a total of around 2200 to 2400 ATMs. There were still more than 5,000 ATMs five years ago…
Cash payments
As for payment methods, the Space study shows that cash payments continue to lose ground and today represent 39% of purchases made in stores and at counters compared to nearly 45% in 2022. Despite From this decline of more than 5 percentage points, cash payments fell less in Belgium than in the euro zone. Another notable fact is that 89% of physical points of sale accept cash in Belgium, compared to 95% in the euro zone. Only the Netherlands (87%) and Latvia (86%) have a lower cash acceptance rate.
