In the first half of the year, 27,200 sets of ATM machines in my country were reduced to less than one million sets

Does cash payment reduce ATM opportunities disappear?

　　The central bank's latest release of the overall operation of the payment system in the second quarter of 2021 shows that the number of bank card acceptance terminals continues to decrease.

As of the end of the second quarter, there were 986,700 ATM machines, a decrease of 19,500 from the end of the previous quarter; the number of ATM machines decreased by 27,200 in the first half of this year.

The number drops from 2019

A decrease of 83,900 units last year

　　ATM machines, also known as automatic teller machines.

On June 27, 1967, the world's first ATM was put into use at the Enfield branch of Barclays Bank in the United Kingdom.

The first domestic ATM was introduced by Bank of China Zhuhai Branch in 1987.

At that time, ATMs weighed more than a ton, and cranes were used for installation, mainly for display purposes.

After my country launched the "Gold Card Project" in 1993, banks' demand for ATMs has grown rapidly, and my country has also developed into the world's largest ATM market.

　　According to data released by the Central Bank, the number of ATMs nationwide reached its peak at the end of 2018: 1,110,800 units, which was an increase of 150,200 units that year.

It is worth noting that since the first quarter of 2018, the central bank has adjusted the statistical caliber of the number of ATMs, not only counting the in-use self-service deposit machines, self-service teller machines, all-in-one machines for deposit and withdrawal, and self-service payments deployed by depository financial institutions in the banking industry. For traditional self-service equipment such as terminals, new terminal equipment such as self-service terminals, visual counters (VTM), and smart counters have also been added to the statistics.

　　Even so, it has not changed the trend of ATM declining year by year.

In 2019, the number of ATMs in my country decreased for the first time, with a decrease of 13,100 units to 1,997,700 units that year; the downward trend will be more pronounced in 2020, with a decrease of 83,900 units throughout the year.

The rise of mobile payments

Decline in ATM utilization

　　Behind the reduction in the number of ATM machines is the full popularity of non-cash payments, especially mobile payments.

With the rise of WeChat and Alipay, people’s payment habits have changed, making it easier to live without cash.

In this context, the importance of ATM machines has greatly declined.

　　Data released by the Central Bank shows that mobile payments have maintained steady growth in recent years.

In the second quarter, the bank processed 67.392 billion electronic payment transactions with an amount of 74.574 trillion yuan.

Among them, online payment services amounted to 25.190 billion, with an amount of 605.19 trillion yuan, an increase of 16.42% and 11.80% year-on-year; mobile payment services were 37.011 billion with an amount of 117.13 trillion yuan, an increase of 22.79% and 0.32% year-on-year.

Non-bank payment institutions processed 13,260.830 billion online payment transactions, with an amount of 87.32 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 28.17% and 24.37% respectively.

　　A survey report of over 170,000 people across the country at the beginning of the year showed that my country's mobile payment users have exceeded 800 million, and the scale of the mobile payment market has been the world's largest for three consecutive years.

ATM machines will not disappear

Cash payment and mobile payment will coexist for a long time

　　However, industry insiders generally believe that although the ATM market has been shrinking year by year, it will not withdraw from the stage of history for a long time. Cash payment and mobile payment will be interdependent and develop mutually for a long time.

　　Recently, the Central Bank released the "Consumer Financial Literacy Survey and Analysis Report (2021)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report").

The "Report" pointed out that, from the perspective of financial behavior, although payment via mobile phones is the first choice for Chinese financial consumers in their daily lives, most people still have the experience of using cash to make payments, mainly small payments.

Specifically, in the last two years, 77.02% of respondents have used mobile phones to make payments, and 71.32% have used cash to make payments.

　　The survey also showed that the older the age group and the lower the educational background, the higher the proportion of consumers using cash to pay.

ATM manufacturer transformation

Provide integrated solutions for smart banking

　　The decline of ATM has put pressure on major financial equipment manufacturers, but the rise of smart banks has also brought them new opportunities.

Quantuo Data believes that under the impact of Internet finance, the intelligent upgrade of bank outlets has become a major trend.

When major banks are actively embracing new technologies and transforming and upgrading to smart banks, the ATM industry also ushered in new development opportunities.

ATM manufacturers have gradually felt the pressure brought by the market and are actively seeking transformation. The opportunity for single-function ATMs has declined sharply, but more intelligent VTM (remote video teller machine) or ITM (interactive transaction mode) will emerge.

At the same time, providers of integrated smart banking solutions with advanced concepts, first-mover experience, and independent research and development capabilities will gradually dominate the market.

　　Radio and Television Express, which has the largest market share in the domestic ATM market, stated in its 2020 annual report that in the face of the intelligent and digital upgrade trend of financial equipment in the banking and pan-financial industries, Radio Express will focus on promoting movement, smart counters, and large deposit and withdrawal all-in-one machines. R&D and performance improvement of other hardware products.

　　In addition to manufacturing hardware equipment, bank digital consulting services have also become a new business for ATM manufacturers.

　　Text/Reporter Cheng Jie Co-ordinated by Yu Meiying