Payments
Pandemic closes 21% ATMs from Dover
April 1, 2021
In the U.K., Dover has lost one in five of its ATMs during the pandemic. Automated teller machines in the town and across the country have been shut down to help social distancing and several autobanks have been closed during the pandemic, according to a reportin Kentonline.
The report indicated which Britain business streets, or high streets, are losing ATMs and which U.K. cities are the most affected.
Dover has lost 25 autobanks, leaving 91, which is a decline of 21.55%.The report found that between 2019 and 2020, the number of cash machines in Britain dropped from 62,967 to 55,674, a decrease of 7,293, with an average of over 340 machines disappearing from high streets every month.
More than 340 ATMs have been closed on the U.K. high streets every month during the pandemic. The city of York has seen the highest rate of decline, with its number of ATMs dropping from 63 in January of 2019 to 45 in September 2020, losing 18 machines, which is almost 29% of the city's total number prior to the pandemic.
Edinburgh, ranked second for the most ATMs closed, with a 24% fall in the number of ATMs. London ranks third with a loss of 192 machines.
The data covers a span of time from January 2019, a year before the pandemic struck, to September 2020, six months after the first lockdown.
High street life was also changed by the coronavirus. Dover's Biggin Street precinct was deserted just after the first lockdown in March 2020.
According the report, it's no surprise that in a digitized economy, that the use of cash is decreasing, making ATMs redundant. With more and more people opting for Apple and Google Pay which has no capped limit for contactless payments, consumers are welcoming the efficiency and speed at which they can purchase larger value products and services.
