Public access to cash - Update report as at year-end 2024

The update confirms that cash continued to be very easily accessible nationwide in 2024. The distance indicator, which measures cash accessibility, was almost unchanged compared with 2023: 98.8% of the population was located less than 15 minutes by road from a site equipped with at least one automated teller machine (ATM),¹ and nearly the entire French population (99.9%) was located less than 15 minutes by road from a site with at least one ATM or a private cash access point in a retail outlet (“private access point”).² 

The average travel time³ to the nearest site for residents of municipalities with no withdrawal facilities was 9.2 minutes, unchanged on 2023. 

The latest study by the European Central Bank (ECB)⁴ on payment attitudes of euro area consumers confirmed that satisfaction with cash access in France remains very high. When asked their opinion on cash accessibility, French respondents reported very high levels of satisfaction: 91% said access to cash was “easy” or “very easy”, which was one of the highest scores in the euro area. Over the past decade, surveys have consistently shown higher satisfaction results for France than for other European countries. Results are also very similar from one French region to another, regardless of whether the area is highly urbanised or rural.

Banks continued to adjust their ATM fleets in better-equipped, densely populated urban areas: these areas tend to have several ATMs located close together, so removing one does not affect cash accessibility for the local population. On the contrary, adjusting the fleet in this way allows banks to control their cash management costs, making the remaining ATMs more viable over the long term.

The number of sites⁵ with at least one ATM declined by 1.9% in 2024 compared with the previous year, after the 3.9% drop observed in 2023. 

The adjustments are also a response to the declining use of cash as a means of payment (see Banque de France Bulletin, 256/1, January-February 2025) and the downward trend in banknote flows and in withdrawals at ATMs. However, the changes are not having a significant impact on the geographical accessibility of ATMs.

Overall, since 2018, the number of French municipalities equipped with at least one ATM has remained relatively stable, at around 6,500. In 2024 it even rose slightly (by 24 municipalities or 0.4%).

Alongside these ATMs, the number of private cash access points continued to rise, and at a faster pace than in 2023 (+3.9% in 2024 compared with +1.7% in 2023). At the end of 2024, the total number stood at 28,479. 

Various initiatives are being taken to increase cash accessibility, demonstrating the strong commitment on the part of industry players and French and European authorities. The initiatives, which are described in more detail in the report, include national initiatives such as the Groupement Cartes Bancaires project to increase cash distribution via retail outlets, and European initiatives.⁶ 

A map of cash access points in metropolitan France has been published to accompany this report. The tool is available in two interactive formats, and allows users to locate private access points and sites with at least one ATM in a specific area, or find out the number of sites and private access points in each municipality. The information is anonymised.
 
¹ The journey can be made using different modes of transport; for the purposes of this report, the mode of transport taken into account is the car.
² Private access points are private cash dispensing services offered by four banking networks and only available to customers of those networks. The four services available via authorised retail outlets are BNP Paribas’ points Nickel, Crédit Agricole’s points relais, Crédit Mutuel’s points relais and various other La Banque Postale points de contact (post offices without ATMs, municipal and inter-municipal postal agencies, La Poste points of sale, etc.). Cash can be withdrawn during the retail outlet’s normal opening hours and there is no need to make a purchase.
³ Journey time by road to the nearest ATM for residents of municipalities without an ATM.
⁴ Fourth ECB study on the payment attitudes of consumers in the euro area (known as the “2024 SPACE” study), published in December 2024.
⁵ An ATM site is a location with one or more ATMs.
⁶ Forthcoming EU regulation on the legal tender of cash (which includes provisions to guarantee the legal tender status of cash, i.e. the obligation for retailers to accept it as a means of payment, and provisions on cash accessibility). Also, the proposal for a third payment services directive which should make it easier to withdraw cash at retail outlets.