A joint press release by Financité, Test Achats, and Okra expressed their disagreement with the agreement reached by the government and the banking sector regarding access to cash. They consider the agreement, which proposes the installation of 200 new ATMs by 2025, as insufficient. The organizations demanded at least 5,900 distributors, each municipality to have a device per 1,500 inhabitants, and at least 95% of the population to have access to a distributor within 2.5 km by road. They collected over 17,500 signatures in support of their petition against the disappearance of distributors. The three organizations feel that the agreement ignores the needs and rights of consumers, and call for the Chamber to rule on the protocol. They also request details about the number of locations and devices per municipality to analyze how the population will be served. The lack of binding sanctions and on-site verification in the agreement fails to guarantee access to a distributor, concluded Anne Fily of Financité and Delphine Schedin of Okra. Jean-Philippe Ducart of Test Purchasing called for a democratic debate and legal framework to satisfy the needs of Belgians who seek to use and access cash.
“With this agreement, the situation will continue to deteriorate”
In the process, and through a joint press release, Financité, Test Achats and Okra reacted by indicating that “the government and the banking sector ignore the right of access to cash”.
They deem “insufficient” the agreement reached providing for the installation of more than 200 new ATMs by the end of 2025.
For them, the agreement does not meet the list of requirements made by the organizations, which demanded at least 5,900 distributors, i.e. the number of distributors that Belgium had at the end of 2021. The organizations also demanded that at least 95% of the population has access to a distributor offering the basic assortment (withdrawal, deposit, etc.) within 2.5 km by road and at least 98% of the population within five km by road. They also claimed that each municipality has a number of devices equivalent to at least one automaton per 1,500 inhabitants.
“The federal authorities and Febelfin have reached a largely insufficient agreement on the ATM file. The needs and rights of consumers are thus ignored,” the three organizations bitterly deplore. The latter had launched, at the beginning of March, a petition against the disappearance of distributors having in the meantime collected more than 17,500 signatures, showing that “access to cash is a concern for many Belgians”.
“With this agreement, the situation will continue to deteriorate,” summarizes Anne Fily, financial inclusion researcher at Financité. “This agreement, which is not binding and does not provide for on-site verification or sanction, does not guarantee access to a distributor”, pin Delphine Schedin, representative of the association of elderly people Okra.
Financité, Testachats and Okra are therefore calling for the Chamber to be able to rule on this protocol.
“It is high time for this issue to be the subject of a democratic debate and, if necessary, of a legal framework to meet the needs of the population, who want to continue to use and access cash”, urges Jean-Philippe Ducart of Test Purchasing.
The three organizations also ask that the details of the number of locations and devices per municipality be communicated, so that each entity can analyze the way in which it will be served.
The battle over access to cash in Belgium continues, with Financité, Test Achats and Okra condemning the recent agreement made between the government and the banking sector, which they say ignores the right of access to cash. Despite the installation of more than 200 new ATMs by the end of 2025, the three organizations argue that the agreement falls far short of their demands for greater access to distributors. They have called for a democratic debate and legal framework to meet the needs of the population, who want to continue to use and access cash. Until a satisfactory solution is found, the situation is set to continue to deteriorate, leaving many Belgians concerned about their ability to access cash.