A first in Belgium: the municipal council of the West Flemish village of Moorsele pays for the installation of an ATM itself. The alderman acknowledges that this is not the task of the government, ‘but we must listen to the needs of our residents’.
The ATM costs the municipality of 6,000 inhabitants 126,000 euros. The installation next summer and management for the next four years will be done by a private company that specializes in security transport and cash storage.
More benches to sit on
The closure of ATMs is a problem in rural areas in more European countries. Over the past eight years, the number of vending machines in Belgium has halved from over 8,000 to approximately 4,000. At least one ATM disappears every day, according to Test Aankoop, the Flemish Consumers’ Association, calculated last year. The consumer association has already issued an urgent appeal to the banks to keep ATMs, so far without much success. Or as Rosa Delany, resident of Moorsele, told the Flemish broadcaster VRT yesterday said: ,,Moorsele used to be very rich in banks, but not anymore. We have benches to sit on, but no more money.”
As in the Netherlands, the major banks have moved to operating ATMs together, nevertheless their plan is to halve the number again over the next two years. The reason: the high costs and the reduced use of cash. The number of ATMs is also falling in the Netherlands for these reasons. Last year, according to De Nederlandsche Bank, there were still 4916 ATMs in our country, 879 fewer than a year earlier.
Fantastic news
The decision of the municipal council of Wevelgem, to which Moorsele belongs, was presented at a senior party on Thursday. “It is fantastic news for our elderly,” said Monique Defraeye (78), chairman of the Elderly Council. “Now they always have to call on their children or others to collect money.”
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There is also criticism. “We understand that the municipality is doing this, but this is not the solution,” said Nathalie Debast of the Association of Flemish Cities and Municipalities against The last news. “Many people feel massively abandoned by the banks that are leaving everywhere. Don’t forget that half of the Flemish people are digitally vulnerable. But it cannot be the intention that municipalities have to pay for this now. We insist that the federal government will oblige the banks to continue to guarantee that proximity.”
The ATM will be located in the middle of Moorsele, where chip shop ‘t Brochetje is still located. But it has been closed for a while.
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