Banks have cut the number of automated teller machines (ATMs) to levels last seen 11 years ago. FILE PHOTO | SHUTTERSTOCK
Banks have cut the number of automated teller machines (ATMs) to levels last seen 11 years ago as customers increasingly turn to agency, internet and mobile banking.
Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) data shows the banking sector closed May with 2,291 ATMs, compared with 2,338 in a similar period last year to send the total count near the 2,285 that were in the market in November 2012.
Read: ATM numbers down to 2301 as digital transactions take over
The continued drop in the number of ATMs, which were once the epitome of convenience, reflects the impact of the growing popularity of agents, internet and mobile banking among customers as they search for even more convenience.
The CBK statistics showed the value of mobile money transactions in a month hit a record at Sh722.5 billion in July last year, fuelled by increased demand for cashless transactions and the establishment of 42,700 new active mobile money agents.
The latest data up to May shows there were 77.34 million registered mobile money accounts—a record high— with the total value of transactions at Sh670.44 billion helped by 334,726 agents.
This is in contrast with 2012 when Kenya had about 20 million active mobile money accounts, handling Sh140 billion per month, according to the CBK data.
Lenders such as KCB, Equity and Cooperative Bank of Kenya have witnessed a similar trend, with the number and value of branch and ATM transactions declining as those outside these two platforms rise.
Equity disclosures, for instance, showed there were 234.7 million digital transactions valued at Sh2.288 trillion in the first quarter of the year compared with 9.2 million transactions via branch and ATM valued at Sh1.055 trillion.
The banking sector had 2,652 ATMs at the end of 2015, meaning that more than 360 units have been shut down in under seven years.
The continued drop points to the waning popularity of the once-revolutionary technology that was introduced in Kenya during the 1990s to decongest the banking halls.
ATMs offered customers the first escape route from long banking queues, forcing banks to install more machines.
Read: Number of ATMs falls to 8-year low
Banks have slowed their focus on ATMs but opted to enrich this technology with new capabilities such as the ability to deposit money as opposed to just the traditional use of cash withdrawal.
→palushula@ke.nationmedia.com
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