Retail Banking Research Ltd. has published the latest edition of its annual survey, "ATMs and Cash Dispensers Western Europe 2010."

The report, which includes key findings from 18 European countries, found this year that despite the relative maturity of many of the region's markets and problems caused by the global financial crisis, the western European installed base of ATMs continued to grow. According to RBR, in 2009, Western Europe 's installed base of ATMs reached 378,747 units.

Given the economic backdrop, any expansion could be regarded as an achievement, RBR says, but the increase of 8,459 installations was the lowest annual increase recorded by RBR for the last 10 years. Percentage growth fell for the second consecutive year to just 2.3 percent, also the lowest for a decade.
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ATM totals drop in U.K. , Spain

The region's two largest ATM markets, the United Kingdom and Spain , contributed the most to the region's slowing growth. The number of ATM installations in these two countries fell by a combined total of 1,252 in 2009. In the United Kingdom the drop is attributed to a contraction in the number of independently deployed ATMs, particularly at surcharging ATMs. In Spain , decrease in ATMs was fueled by bank branch closures, in an attempt to cut costs.

Spain was not the only country to close branches, RBR says. The total number of bank branches in Western Europe fell by nearly 2,000 in 2009, leading to falls in the number of ATMs in Denmark , the Netherlands , Norway and Ireland .

Growth in Italy , Germany , France

By contrast, the other three largest western European markets — Italy , Germany and France — saw higher absolute ATM growth rates in 2009 when compared with the previous year.

Italy has contributed the most to the overall growth. The Italian market grew by more than 3,100 ATMs, primarily due to the expansion of Banca Nazionale del Lavoro, which has a long‑term plan to migrate transactions away from the teller; and Banco Posta, which still has a large number of post offices without ATMs. Deployers in Germany and France installed an additional 3,900 terminals, with notable increases in the number of ATMs deployed by Crédit Mutuel and independent German ATM deployers.

Deployers upgrade to automated deposits at ATMs

The popularity of automated deposits at ATMs in Western Europe increased once again in 2009. The number of terminals offering automated deposits was up 23 percent. In eight western European markets more than 10 percent of all ATMs now offer automated deposits. At the same time, deployers have continued to withdraw envelope deposit terminals from their networks. In 2009, the number of ATMs that offer envelope deposits fell 11 percent.

Growth in the number of recycling ATMs exceeded that of automated-deposit terminals, however. By the end of 2009, nearly 10,000 recycling ATMs had been installed, 82 percent of which are installed in Germany and Belgium .

EMV compliance approaches completion

Deployers have continued to work toward complying with the region's EMV mandate, and by the close of 2009, the proportion of machines with chip card readers had increased to 95 percent. EMV compliance has reached 92 percent across the region. In eight countries — Denmark , Finland , France , Ireland , Norway , Sweden , Switzerland and the United Kingdom — all ATMs now meet EMV standards.

Cash withdrawal volumes bounce back

After a striking lack of growth in 2008, the total volume of ATM cash withdrawals grew by 2.4 percent in 2009, marginally higher than growth in the number of ATMs. Average usage in the region rose slightly, to 2,786 withdrawals per terminal per month.

Cash withdrawal usage is the highest in Finland , where the average volume is 8,737 cash withdrawals per ATM per month, while Italy has the lowest level, at just 1,432 withdrawals. Finnish cardholders tend to visit ATMs frequently and withdraw smaller amounts. Furthermore, Finland 's density of ATMs to population is the second lowest in the region. Italy 's low usage level is partly explained by its high average withdrawal value.

Outsourcing of first-line maintenance rises

Cash replenishment is outsourced for 44 percent of installations overall, but it is outsourced for a much higher proportion of off‑site terminals (87 percent) than branch machines (27 percent), as banks are more likely to have their personnel replenish onsite ATMs..

First-line maintenance is outsourced for 33 percent of branch installations, while it is outsourced for 78 percent of off-site ATMs. In both cases, it is often performed by the provider of cash replenishment. Overall, the share of ATMs for which first-line maintenance is outsourced in Western Europe rose from 42 percent to 46 percent in 2009.

The vast majority of deployers in the region outsource second-line maintenance for their branch ATMs and off-site machines, although some U.K. independent ATM deployers used their own engineers.