Senators examine proposal to guarantee access to cash machines in rural areas of France
Some 18.6% of French communes had access to at least one local ATM in 2024
A recent proposal suggests French communes should have at least one ATM per 1,000 inhabitants
photofort 77/Shutterstock
French senators have submitted a proposal to combat the “continual disappearance” of ATMs, particularly in rural areas.
The bill, submitted to the Sénat on January 20, seeks to create an “enforceable right of access to cash withdrawals” and to “preserve the role of cash as an integral part of the payment system.”
The number of ATMs in France has decreased by 19% between 2019 and 2024, according to the official text. Some 1,545 were removed in 2024 alone and in the same year it was recorded that around 6,500 out of 34,934 communes (18.6%) had access to at least one local cash machine.
This decline is mainly the result of “the restructuring of banking business models,” with companies closing ATMs when deemed insufficiently profitable.
If the new proposal is accepted, local mayors acting on behalf of the municipality, would have the authority to notify the Banque de France about the absence of a cash machine in their commune, as part of a “private service of general interest,” reads the bill.
The Banque de France would then have one month to examine the case, and up to three months to officially designate a bank to “install, manage, supply, and maintain the required ATM(s) at its own expense.”
Rural isolation from banking services
The decline in ATMs and growing number of branch closures primarily affects rural and suburban areas, which is particularly detrimental “to the elderly and those exposed to the digital divide,” who perhaps do not have access to online banking services and who prefer to use cash, explains the proposal.
This problem has been previously highlighted by rural mayors.
As of 2025, there are fewer than 36,000 physical banking branches in France, or around 52 per 100,000 inhabitants. In 2010, it was 64 per 100,000, and closure rates are set to heighten across France in the coming years according to consumer watchdog UFC Que-Choisir.
The bill also highlights the importance of having physical cash in case of a major cyberattack or an outage affecting credit card payment systems.
What measures does the proposal include?
To combat this issue, the proposal sets out a series of rules to help measure the needs of individual communes when it comes to cash machine access:
Communes should have at least one ATM per 1,000 inhabitants and an additional ATM for each 2,000 inhabitants.
For communes with less than 1,000 inhabitants, neighboring communes can group together to form a single entity with a combined population of at least 1,000 inhabitants.
A total of 90% of inhabitants should live less than 5km or less than a 15-minute drive from an ATM, or a 15-minute walk in dense urban areas - except in exceptional circumstances.
If the bank designated by the Banque de France fails to cooperate with local mairies, the proposed law suggests imposing administrative sanctions and a financial penalty to contribute to a new fund called the Fonds France-espèces (France-cash Fund).
“The Fonds France-espèces is an essential complement to the right to access cash withdrawals. Its purpose is not to finance banking activities, but to ensure the sector-wide pooling of costs associated with the performance of this public interest mission,” explains the bill.
This money would therefore go towards supporting the installation and maintenance of ATMs “in underserved communities.”
