According to a report in Tuesday’s edition of the daily ‘Het Belang van Limburg’, finding locations for the installation of the new generic Cash Point auto teller machines is proving more difficult than expected. The company that operates the machines Batopin confirms that it is sometimes tricky to find premises that are suitable to house its Cash Point machines. Batopin was set up by the four biggest High Street banks in Belgium (BNP Paribas Fortis, Belfius, ING and KBC) with the specific aim of rolling out a network on generic (non-branded) cash machines.
These are intended to replace the cash machines that were previously or for the time being at least are still available at branches of the various banks.
In 2020 the four largest High Street banks in Belgium KBC, ING, BNP Paribas Fortis and Belfius launched Batopin whose task it is to roll out and manage a new network of cash machines. The machines are not bank-specific and can be used by anyone that has a debit card regardless of which bank they are a customer of.
Batopin’s Julie Kerremans told VRT News that there are currently Cash Point machines at 500 locations across Belgium. Some are housed in former banks or former retail premises, while others can be found at metro or railway stations. Find suitable premises to accommodate the cash points isn’t always easy.
"At a specific number of locations it is proving difficult, because a building needs to meet certain technical and requirements”.
On-street machines as an alternative
During the past few years Batopin has looked at no fewer than 11,000 buildings as potential sites for its cash machines. However, many of these were found to be unsuitable. In Boom (Antwerp Province), Grimbergen, Kampenhout, Londerzeel (all Flemish Brabant) Ronse, Waasmunster (both East Flanders) and Zedelgem (West Flanders) in particular it has proved difficult to find suitable sites.
In Limburg too Batopin is having difficulty finding sites for its cash machines. The Mayor of Lanaken Marino Keulen (liberal) to VRT News that "We have an aging population and our residents want this service. They blame politicians, while they should be blaming the banks that are making huge profits”.
Mr Keulen proposes installing on-street cash machines on public squares. This would avoid the need for a building to meet certain criteria. Mr Keulen says that this has the advantage of it being easy to park and there being social control during to people living close by.
Batopin aims to have Cash Points installed at 970 locations by the end of next year. Click here to find a Cash Point site near you.