The number of automated teller machines (ATMs) in Taiwan this year increased to 27,866, shrinking the ratio of people to machine to about 840, Financial Information Service Co (FISC) data released yesterday showed.
As of the end of August, there were 27,866 ATMs, compared with 27,240 at the end of December last year, the data showed.
The August figure translates into one ATM per 843 people in a population of 23.5 million, the FISC data showed.
As of the end of last year, the ATM density was one per 863 people, the statistics showed.
About 74 percent of the ATMs — 20,808 — are located in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, the nation’s six special municipalities, FISC said.
Taipei has the highest number of ATMs with 5,488, which puts its ATM density at one per 493 people, followed by New Taipei City with 4,685 units, and together they account for about 36 percent of the total nationwide, FISC said.
Taichung has 3,100 ATMs, Kaohsiung 2,882, Taoyuan 2,748 and Tainan 1,905, statistics showed.
Changhua County is the only area that has more than 1,000 ATM’s with 1,008 units, FISC said.
Taiwan began installing public ATMs in January 1987, and by 2004 the number had reached 21,449.
Since then, the number of ATM’s has continued to rise, which is an indication that many people still use cash to make payments, Banking Bureau Chief Secretary Chen Yen-yi (陳妍沂) said.
She said the Financial Supervisory Commission has been encouraging banks to provide better ATM services by replacing older machines with new ones that have both withdrawal and deposit functions.
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