Withdrawing money could soon cost more, as banks have been given the option of increasing the interbank withdrawal fee.
Interbank withdrawal fees soar
Having remained unchanged since 2011, the price of the interbank withdrawal fee has been increased by 56%, from 57 to 89 euro cents, as of January 1, 2020. This increase will enable banks belonging to the Groupement des Cartes Bancaires (GIECB) to amortize the costs of maintaining their ATM networks, and also to cope with the growing number of online banks. Neobanks, which have no physical branches, use the existing ATM network to enable their customers to withdraw cash. These players offer a free bank card and charge their users very few fees. Traditional banks hope that this increase in the CIR will encourage online players to charge their customers a little more, making them less competitive.
The increase in the amount of the CIR is usually imperceptible, except above a certain number of transactions per month. It's worth noting that in most banks, from the 4th or 5th withdrawal per month in another establishment, the customer pays around 1 euro per withdrawal.
Fewer and fewer ATMs in France
Savers hardly ever use cash dispensers anymore. France now has almost 53,000 ATMs, 10% fewer than 5 years ago. Small towns are suffering the most. To cope with the phasing out of cash dispensers, retailers are not hesitating to resort to the "cashback" system. Already widespread in other European countries, this service enables retailers to provide cash to customers who pay by credit card. For example, if you buy 10 euros worth of newspapers at a tobacconist's, you get 40 euros in cash if you pay 50 euros by credit card.
As a result, cash payments are becoming increasingly rare. The Banque de France estimates that cash payments could fall by more than 20% by 2025. This trend is not only linked to the abolition of cash dispensers, but also to contactless payment, whose ceiling has been raised from 20 to 30 euros (and soon to 50 euros), and to the development of online savings accounts and friend-to-friend repayment applications.