Central Bank tells three banks to address access-to-cash shortfalls

DCM Editorial Summary: This story has been independently rewritten and summarised for DCM readers to highlight key developments relevant to the region. Original reporting by Irish Times, click this post to read the original article.

The Central Bank of Ireland has told the State’s three retail banks that they need to address six minor instances where they have not lived up to providing sufficient access to cash to customers under rules introduced late last year.

In its first quarterly access-to-cash report, the regulator said the Republic’s cash infrastructure in Ireland “remains largely in line” with criteria set by Minister for Finance Simon Harris in November.

The rules include the minimum percentage of the population in various regions that must be within 10km of an ATM and a cash service point, as well as the minimum number of ATMs per 100,000 people in each region.

The aim is to maintain the number of ATMs and cash service points at 2022 levels, after factoring in the exits of Ulster Bank and KBC Bank Ireland from the market.

The criteria state that between 96.5 per cent and 99.3 per cent of the population in eight regions should be within 10km of an ATM.

The Border and West regions fell marginally short – by 0.4 and 0.2 of a percentage point, respectively – of their targets, according to the report.

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The West and southwest were also slightly shy of targets set for the number of ATMs that should be available forever 100,000 people in their regions. The Border and West also came in marginally behind target for access to cash service points – where cash deposit and withdrawal services are provided by, or on behalf, of the banks.

“The data shows that Ireland’s cash infrastructure is largely in line with the criteria set by the Minister for Finance,” said Vasileios Madouros, a deputy governor with the Central Bank.

“However, there are some instances where the criteria are not met, and this will need to be rectified by the firms responsible under the legislation. We have outlined the identified shortfalls to firms, and they will provide us with their proposals to address these in the coming weeks.”

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Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI) said that AIB, Bank of Ireland and PTSB “are fully committed to providing the relevant ATM and cash service point services as soon as possible”.

“At the same time, consumers are changing the way they pay, with ATM cash withdrawals having fallen by over a third (37 per cent) since 2019 (before the pandemic) as more people choose to manage their money digitally,” it said. “In this context, banks remain committed to ensuring there is reasonable access to cash in line with their obligations under the access to cash legislation.”

The last government committed to drafting laws to protect consumers’ and businesses’ access to cash on foot of a recommendation in a wide-ranging Department of Finance report on the state of Irish banking in late 202 – at a time when the pandemic had accelerated the use of digital payments globally and the ongoing cost cutting across the banking sector.

The Finance (Provision of Access to Cash Infrastructure) Act 2025 put legislative framework around the matter.

“We also recognise that, at a more local level, there may be specific challenges in accessing cash. From July onwards, people can make a submission to the Central Bank if they believe there is a local deficiency in relation to access to cash,” Madouros said.

Harris said: “As payments continue to digitalise, it remains important and essential to recognise that cash is a necessary means of payment for many people. This includes not only the older generations in our society, but also individuals who may not have access to digital payment options.”