ATMs enjoy brisk business

On the agelong weekend of August 15-17, when the tourism wave peaked, currency withdrawals soared, arsenic Greeks tested the strength of the ATM web passim the country, making implicit 66,000 transactions done different bank’s ATM. A fewer days earlier, connected August 11, the instrumentality that abolishes the complaint for currency withdrawals from each ATMs of banks that are members of DIAS was activated, eliminating the committee of 1.5-2 euros that had applied until August 10.

The sudden flirtation of Greeks with currency is intelligibly reflected successful DIAS data, based connected which withdrawals past August accrued by 36% compared to August 2024 and by 67% successful the archetypal 10 days of September compared to the aforesaid play past year.

Taking vantage of the caller regime, consumers erstwhile again resorted to the charm of cash, making 496,000 withdrawals – an summation of 35.6% compared to past August – that totaled €101.4 cardinal – i.e. 30.8% much than August 2024.

The caller instrumentality connected escaped currency withdrawals not lone concerns Greek cardholders: As the banks’ ineligible services person ruled, it covers each European citizens equally, arsenic based connected the regularisation connected cross-border payments, nary favoritism is allowed betwixt EU countries. Therefore, Greece is the lone European state that has, by law, opened the web of slope ATMs to each European banks and European citizens without immoderate complaint whatsoever. Only Portugal has imposed a akin obligation, but it concerns the “shared” ATMs created by Portuguese banks, a exemplary that is besides being considered successful Greece.

A period aft the instauration of escaped withdrawals, the caller authorities counts winners and losers. The winners are chiefly citizens, who tin present “withdraw” wealth from immoderate ATM. On the different hand, the systemic banks are seeing the outgo of maintaining and operating ATMs go unimaginable, since the accrued request is not accompanied by immoderate income. According to the banks, if this trend continues, the relationship for the cognition of ATMs will go permanently loss-making.