In the United States, there are fewer automated teller machines (ATMs) since more consumers use digital payments instead of cash.
Since many citizens were locked inside during the pandemic, online sales grew while cash sales fell due to concerns that touching cash could spread the COVID virus.
The need for online payments has not been seen to slow down since more people depend on them instead of cash. The rise in online shopping and the concern about cash caused massive growth in digital payment methods.
There are now fewer ATMs distributed across the nation as a result of fewer people seeking cash due to decreased ATM usage. The number of cash machines in the U.S. reached in 2019 at 470,000, but following the pandemic, the amount has decreased annually to reach 451,500 by the end of 2022.
Although the majority of people have started using digital payments, there are still some customers who use cash almost strictly. The decrease in ATMs has been an issue for these consumers because they now have to travel a long distance to search for a machine whereas, before 2020, ATMs were almost always available.
Even though demand for cash and ATMs has considerably decreased, banking experts claim that ATMs are still an important part of the banking sector and that they won’t disappear anytime soon.
