Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 February 2024
135. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Minister for Finance if he will be extending the powers of the Central Bank in relation to the regulation of ATMs especially in relation to matters such as reporting, service standards, and denomination stocking; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4267/24]
View answerAs the Deputy may be aware, on the 23rd of January, I published the General Scheme of the Access to Cash Bill 2024. The Access to Cash Bill stems from a recommendation made by the Department of Finance's Retail Banking Review, published in November 2022.
The aim of the Bill is to ensure continued reasonable access to cash in the State based, initially, on December 2022 levels, adjusted for the subsequent exits of Ulster Bank and KBC. The legislation will, for the first time, regulate ATMs with the objective of improving operational standards and ensuring good customer service.
It will also put in place a framework to allow for reasonable access to cash across the State that can evolve with the economy and society’s need for cash.
The operation of ATMs is not currently regulated by the Central Bank, although ATM deployers are required to comply with various security requirements set by the Private Security Authority. As a result, the Central Bank does not have any codes or regulations governing service standards, including hours of operation, denomination stocking, outages and maximum repair times.
Reporting is voluntary and there are no requirements to give notice of decisions to close or install ATMs or indeed of a decision to exit the business or enter it. The Access to Cash Bill will address these matters by requiring ATMs deployers to be registered with the Central Bank and by providing the Central Bank with the regulation making powers in relation to all the matters raised by the Deputy.
The Central Bank will be responsible for the monitoring and enforcement of this legislation.
