Do you still need cash? Banks closing ATMs, except Capitec

The world is moving towards doing everything digitally, from shopping to attending meetings, paying bills, taking out loans and even consulting a doctor. This is no different in South Africa.

Even many fast-food stores, such as KFC, McDonald’s and Burger King, have transitioned to self-service machines that only accept bank cards or vouchers.

If most of the things consumers need money for can be paid without having physical money in hand, is there still a need for automated teller machines (ATMS)?

Based on the information gathered by The Citizen from Capitec, Absa, FNB and Standard Bank, the decision to keep ATMs is influenced by customer behaviour, location and how much people in certain areas earn.

ALSO READ: Challenges and opportunities of becoming a cashless society

Capitec getting more ATMs

Many banks in the country are gradually reducing their ATM footprint nationwide as they observe a rise in digital transactions. However, Capitec told The Citizen it will be doing the opposite.

“We are driven by a simple belief: banking should be transparent, affordable and accessible for every South African. That’s why, even as many others scale back, we are continuing to grow our physical presence,” said Francois Viviers, group executive of marketing and communications at Capitec.

By end of February 2025, Capitec had more than 8 797 ATMs and cash-accepting devices across the country.

Viviers said they are passionate about encouraging digital adoption, but they cannot ignore the fact that millions of South Africans still depend on cash to manage their daily lives.

Digital wallets growth

He added that for them, it is not about choosing one channel over another; it is about ensuring no one is left behind.

“We are seeing strong momentum in digital usage. As of Tuesday, 13 million of our clients actively use our app and in the past year alone, card payments increased by 18%, totalling more than 2.4 billion transactions.

“E-commerce transactions surged by 47% and more than one million clients now use digital wallets such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay.”

Goal of building a digitally led model

However, things are different at Absa. The bank’s spokesperson told The Citizen in 2024 it reduced the number of ATMs by 2% to 5 138 due to the shift to digital-first banking transactions.

“This strategic shift supports Absa’s long-term goal of building a digitally led, future-ready banking model by allowing us to reallocate resources to platforms that serve a broader range of customer needs with greater efficiency.”

The spokesperson added that its approach is data-driven, customer-centric geographic analysis, which considers transaction volumes, customer preferences, crime patterns and the availability of alternative cash access points (such as partner retailers) in each area.

ALSO READ: Tap-and-pay becomes more popular among South Africans

High digital adoption

Absa has observed that in regions with high digital adoption or proximity to alternative cash access points, ATM usage is generally consistently low, which allows it to optimise its operations in these environments.

In some locations, Absa has removed ATMs as it enhances partnerships with retail outlets and enable alternative cash access points through cash at the till functionality.

“Over the past few years, particularly since the pandemic, we have seen a consistent decline in ATM usage as more customers embrace digital and card-based transactions.

“Digital transaction volumes have grown by double digits year-on-year, while the demand for cash transactions continues to decline.”

The need for cash decreasing

Zibu Nqala, CEO for FNB pointspof Presence, told The Citizen it had noticed a significant shift in transactional behaviour among its customers with a decreasing need for cash.

For its customers who earn more than R750 000 per annum, cash has historically played a minor role, accounting for only 4% of their total payments.

“This trend has remained consistent, reflecting a preference for digital and card-based transactions,” Nqala said

However, those who earn les than R750 000 per annum have traditionally relied more on cash. “However, this figure has now decreased to 25%, indicating a clear downward trend.”

This shift is accompanied by an increased use of cards and real-time payments, due to the growing adoption of digital payment methods.

ALSO READ: South Africans move to contactless payments

Urban customers

Nqala added that FNB sees urban customers migrating to digital payments more aggressively than rural customers.

“That is why we ensure that we have representation for rural customers through our various points of presence and retailer partnerships. We therefore empower our customers by giving them a choice in how they transact, regardless of their preference for cash or digital transactions.”

ATM footprint decreases in three years

The below year-on-year look at FNB’s self-service device (SSD) numbers as of December 2024 helps to paint the picture of how it has reduced its footprint. 

Three-year view of SSD numbers (December 2024):

Device Type	22 Dec	23 Dec	24 Dec
Automated Deposit Tellers (ADTs)	2 007	2 102	2 166
ATMs	2 484	2 394	2 319
Retailers	185	183	171
Statement Printing Kiosk	103	101	97
Bulk Deposit Taking	10	10	17
Total	4 789	4 790	4 770

 Table: Supplied by FNB

“FNB’s decisions on footprint have been primarily driven by local market alignment, customer trends, device economics and the bank’s continuous evaluation of device placement,” said Nqala.

She added that if FNB removes any devices, it is done with a calculated approach to ensure there are sufficient alternative points of presence in the local markets so that there is no impact on customers.

Standard Bank upgrades its ATMs

According to Standard Bank’s annual integrated report for the year ended 31 December 2024, the bank has reduced its physical branches and in-store kiosks from 1 206 in 2023, to 1 168 in 2024.

When it comes to ATMS, it has reduced its footprint from 6 014 in 2023 to 5 562 in 2024.

“Our clients benefit from our extensive network of branches, cost-effective kiosks, ATMs, dedicated call centres and retail partners,” reads the report.

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