Nearly 660,000 people live in one of the 3,200 municipalities without bank access

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There are only 243 cities with more than 500 inhabitants without these services in Spain, which has the third densest network of ATMs and branches in the EU

Financial exclusion is one of the biggest problems in rural Spain, with a total of 657,500 people currently unable to access banks in the municipality where they live. This is evident from the ‘Report on Financial Inclusion in Spain’ prepared by the Valencian Research Institute (Ivie), which shows that 3,230 municipalities in Spain do not offer these services with a bank branch, ATM, minibus or with the agreement signed by the post offices.

Of course, the report presented this Tuesday by the three banking employers (AEB, CECA and UNACC) that 92.4% of these municipalities without access to banking have fewer than 500 inhabitants. In other words, only 243 Spanish cities with more than 500 inhabitants have no access point. So, measured by population, 68% of Spaniards living in a municipality without access points are in a city with less than 500 inhabitants, about 212,000 people in all of Spain. León, Cantabria, Girona and Navarra stand out as the provinces where more people live in this situation.

While the issue appears to be rather focused, there has been a 23% reduction in ATMs since the 2008 peak. Currently there are 47,639 ATMs all over Spain. Despite the decline, Spain is the fourth country in the EU with the largest network of ATMs, with one for every 957 inhabitants. But it’s not just an ATM problem, as the branch network cut has been drastic since they added 45,662 branches in September to the 19,015 it closed in 2021, a 58% reduction.

All in all, there are 4,007 municipalities in Spain (half the total) that do not have a bank branch or an ATM, affecting 1.17 million inhabitants. Your financial services are limited to an agent, temporary office or the service provided by Correos.

The same Tuesday, the National Market and Competition Commission (CNMC), indicated that one of its proposals to reduce the risk of financial exclusion in rural areas is the ability to withdraw cash in local businesses. “It would facilitate the expansion of cash access points and the financial withdrawal of those who do not have an ATM nearby,” explains the competition. The professor of economic analysis at the University of Valencia, Joaquín Maudos, who prepared the report, stated that the problem is “complex” and requires a “combination of measures” according to the characteristics of each municipality, but appreciated the CNMC’s proposal.

“Installing an ATM in a community of 50 residents is ineffective and inefficient because the older population may not be familiar with that technology,” he explains. For this reason, he advocated “à la carte” measures to solve these problems. The CNMC concludes that the number of ATMs has decreased by 23% in the last fifteen years and that there is little implementation of alternative systems, more developed in other European countries.

Moreover, it points to digitization as one of the reasons why fewer and fewer people choose to use cash, with the percentage of people using this method from 80% in 2014 to 36% in 2021.

The report commissioned by the bank aims to have a “picture” of the accessibility of financial services across Spain, with a special focus on empty Spain, said María Abascal, general manager of the Spanish Banking Association (AEB). With this data, they will continue to analyze with the government the plan of measures to strengthen the financial absorption of these areas, which they did not want to advance further until it is finalized.

Source: La Verdad

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