How digital payments are gradually replacing cash

How often do you still present cash when it comes to paying? That’s because we are paying contactlessly more frequently, or with a card or smartphone. And while digital banking is now firmly established, can you still imagine going to the bank every time you want to make a transfer? As a result, banks need to adjust their infrastructure to this new way of paying. Starting at the beginning: where you withdraw your money...

In Belgium, every ATM is still linked to an individual bank. But there is a change just around the corner. The four big Belgian banks have joined forces in the context of a new project. Starting this summer, Batopin will start the roll out of a brand new, neutral network of CASH points in the whole country. The implementation of this extensive project will take several years and is planned to be completed by the end of 2024.

Better distribution

In full, Batopin stands for Belgian ATm OPtimization INitiative, or, in practical language: the right number of ATMs in the right places. The aim is to achieve a better distribution of the total number of ATMs across the whole of Belgium. This is the only sensible way in which we can continue to withdraw cash in the digital age, because our use of ATMs is declining sharply. At the same time, cash still has an important role to play: cash has a social function and remains an important means of making payments for many Belgians. The major banks are aware of this and accept their social responsibility in ensuring cash still remains readily available.

‘Cash 2025’

To enable us to arrive at the best possible network of ATMs, it is important for all of the main parties involved to put their heads together, also with the government and exchange their thoughts and views. Under the banner of ‘Cash 2025’, all of the parties involved, such as municipalities and associations, can contribute their thoughts about the future of cash in our country. Read more about it in this blog article.