STOCKHOLM, Sweden — Kontanten is opening its first three ATMs in Finland today, in partnership with Rautakirja, Finland's largest chain of convenience stores. In total, 500 will be deployed over the next few years. This means that Kontanten has challenged what some consider to be the banks' monopoly on ATMs. The partnership is the result of increasing demands from consumers and retailers. Finland and Sweden, alongside Turkey, have the lowest availability of ATMs in Europe. "Just like Sweden, Finland is at the bottom of the European league table as far as ATMs per capita are concerned. This hampers access to cash, and traders lose business. Customers are also finding it annoying that they can't access their cash without having to spend a lot of time queuing," said Gunnar Jacobson, chief executive of Kontanten.
With Kontanten's excellent performance in Sweden, Rautakirja saw an opportunity to make it easier for its customers to access cash, something which would benefit the chain's business. Rautakirja is Finland's largest chain of convenience stores, with 700 R-Kioski outlets throughout the country.
"We have been concerned about the poor access to cash, and we want to do our bit to guarantee improved access throughout the country," says Markku Pelkonen, senior vice president of Kiosk Operations Rautakirja.
The three first ATMs will be opening for business in Helsinki today. The launch will be handled by EuroCash Finland Oy, a subsidiary of Kontanten. The Finnish Competition Authority and the Bank of Finland are happy to welcome a new player on the Finnish market. Until now, there has only been one player, the bank-owned Otto machines.
In Sweden, traders who have installed ATMs have increased their sales, a fact which played a major part in persuading Rautakirja to become involved. Surveys show that 60 percent of the cash is spent in the immediate vicinity of the machines and 80 percent go straight to the till after withdrawing money in the shop.
"The banks would like us to believe that we are moving rapidly towards a cashless society," Jacobson said. "The fact is that cash has never been more popular than it is now, both in Finland and Sweden."
