Dutch ATM's out of order 2 to 3 times more often than agreed

ATMs in the Netherlands were out of order last month far more often than the banks had promised. On average, 5.7 percent of the Geldmaat machines were broken in September. The banks committed to having no more than 2.5 percent of machines out of order to keep cash available, NOS reports based on data collected with the regional broadcasters.

The Netherlands saw many ATMs disappear from the streets in recent years as bank branches closed or removed the machines due to ATM bombings. To ensure that cash remains available, the banks agreed that no more than 2.5 percent of the remaining ATMs should be out of service at a time. A stricter standard of 2 percent applies to ATMs that are alone in an area. Neither target has been achieved by a long shot, according to the broadcasters.

Geldmaat, the company that manages and maintains the ATMs for the three large banks, confirmed the disruptions to NOS and acknowledged that the standard would likely not be achieved this year. It wasn’t achieved last year, either.

“We are confronted with situations that we did not see coming,” Peggy Corstens of Geldmaat told the broadcaster. “We are doing everything we can.”

According to Corstens, there were extra disruptions in September due to problems with a specific part of some ATMs. Geldmaat struggled to get the part and, therefore, could not quickly resolve the malfunctions. “Delivery times are long,” Corstens said. “That means some machines are out of order for longer than desirable. We hope that the problems will be resolved within a few weeks.”

The Ministry of Finance regrets that the services are not up to standard. It is working on a law that will force banks to make ATMs more available.