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Study: Asia-Pacific region charts impressive growth in ATM installations

June 22, 2016

The number of ATMs across Asia-Pacific countries rose 12 percent last year, according to the new RBR report, "ATM Hardware, Software and Services 2016." For the first time, the research and consulting firm closely examined 11 countries in the region, and found that, of these, five registered double-digit growth in 2015.

Bangladesh led the way with a whopping 21-percent increase in its ATM installed base, driven by the fact that deployers no longer need to obtain permission from the country's central bank for new installations. In terms of growth, Bangladesh was followed by Pakistan, India, China and the Philippines.

According to Robert Chaundy, who led the study, "The remarkable demand for cash services in these developing markets, as well as vast swathes of unbanked populations, continue to provide ATM deployers with incentives for expansion."

And there's plenty of room yet for growth. Bangladesh has just 46 ATMs per million inhabitants, while Pakistan has only 55. 

China boasts 335 ATMs per million people, but this is still low compared with a region such as Europe, where the average is more than twice that, at 794 ATMs per million.

According to RBR, most of Europe is well served with ATMs and, in fact, the number of installed machines actually fell in 12 of 20 major European markets surveyed.

Only Poland and Turkey saw significant increases, at 9 percent and 4 percent, respectively. In Poland, this was almost entirely the result of expansion by nonbank deployers, RBR said. 

But while the installed base in Europe remains flat, region-wide demand for software and services is on the rise.

The RBR study shows that banks are using increasingly advanced software, and a growing number are running multivendor solutions. Additionally, deployers' need to replace and upgrade older machines is constant.

"Interest and investment in a region as large, dynamic and varied as Europe will remain strong, with ATMs continuing their role as the primary channel for obtaining cash, and self-service automation critical for banks in their drive towards greater efficiency," Chaundry said.