News

New Zealanders will be seeing fewer ATMs around, expert says

April 23, 2018

The elimination of off-us ATM transaction fees and reduced cash use will have the combined effect of driving down the number of ATMs in New Zealand, according to a report by Stuff.

Australia-based Westpac has already shuttered a pair of its ATMs in New Zealand that were in competition with other machines, the report said.

One banking and economics expert told Stuff that the removal of the $1 (US $0.72) transaction fee for out-of-network transactions ATM would reverse the trend toward greater numbers of ATMs that began in 1998 when banks first began to impose such fees. Increased bankcard use among New Zealanders would accelerate the reduction, he said.

Spokespeople from New Zealand's other major banks — ANZ, BNZ and Kiwibank — told Stuff that they were not aware of any planned ATM closures at this time. A Westpac spokesperson was unable to say whether that bank would carry out additional closures.