ATMs to make €10 and €20 notes more readily available
Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has confirmed that the Central Bank is to act on a recommendation from the National Payments plan to target a “significant” increase in the number of €10 and €20 banknotes dispensed from the ATMs.
“Building on that recommendation, the Central Bank has set targets for the banks to achieve in terms of issuance of €10, €20, and €50 notes from non-retailer ATMs by 2018,” he said.
“These targets were calculated following a study of the requirements of consumers, given patterns of cash usage.”
The targets are that 6%-10% of all notes by volume are to be €10 notes by the end of 2018; 40%-45% of all notes are to be €20 notes; and 45%-50% of all notes are to be €50 notes.
“The latest available data, for Q3 2017, on amounts actually dispensed, show that 8% of all notes are €10 notes, 36% of all notes are €20 notes, and 56% of all notes are €50 notes,” said Mr Donohoe.
The minister said the Central Bank requests regular updates from the commercial banks on meeting the targets “and continues to challenge them in relation to the number of €10 and €20 banknotes being dispensed from their ATMs”.
“This topic is a permanent agenda item at the National Cash Forum, which is chaired by the Central Bank, and is also discussed at bilateral meetings with banks by the Central Bank,” he said.
In September, less money was withdrawn via debit cards from ATMs than was spent via debit cards for point-of-sale transactions.
Compared to the €2.9bn spent using debit cards directly, ATM transactions on debit cards totalled €1.6bn.
