Access to Cash

Decorative image. ATM machine displaying a number of €50 notes

Central Bank of Ireland is committed to ensuring that cash is readily available as a means of payment. Our Strategy states that we aim to promote the provision of choice and access to payment instruments in Ireland, including cash and electronic payments.

The Finance (Provision of Access to Cash Infrastructure) Act 2025 grants new powers to the Central Bank and provides for the continued provision of sufficient and effective access to cash infrastructure for individuals and SMEs in Ireland.

This legislation comes into force from 30 June 2025.

What is the Access to Cash legislation?

The Finance (Provision of Access to Cash Infrastructure) Act 2025 ensures continued access to cash services throughout Ireland and protects the resilience of the cash system. Under the Act, certain credit institutions – referred to as “designated entities” – are required to maintain the cash infrastructure network at certain minimum levels, which will be prescribed by the Minister for Finance. This is to ensure that any further evolution of the cash infrastructure is managed in a fair, orderly, transparent and equitable manner for all stakeholders. The Act also provides for the registration and oversight of ATM deployers and cash-in-transit (CIT) providers by the Central Bank.

What is the Central Bank’s role?

Monitoring compliance with access to cash criteria

In consultation with the Central Bank, the Minister for Finance will set criteria to ensure that individuals and SMEs across Ireland have reasonable and effective access to cash services.

These criteria will require that, for each NUTS3 region in the State (namely Border, West, Mid-West, South-East, South-West, Dublin, Mid-East, Midlands):

  1. There is a minimum percentage of the population that must be within 5-10 kilometres of an ATM
  2. There is a minimum number of ATMs that should be available per 100,000 people in the region concerned
  3. There is a minimum percentage of the population concerned that must be within 5-10 kilometres of a cash service point.

A cash service point is a location at which cash services are provided by – or on behalf of – a designated entity. 

In due course, the Minister will specify the required percentages, kilometre distances and number of ATMs for these criteria.

The Central Bank will be responsible for monitoring compliance with these criteria using data collected from providers of ATMs and cash service points (i.e. banks, ATM Operators, An Post, etc). If we identify non-compliance – i.e. any region where the access to cash criteria level falls below the thresholds set by the Minister for Finance – we will notify the designated entities and, if necessary, take measures such as issuing directions to ensure compliance with the criteria.

We also have a role in reviewing the criteria, either on our own initiative, at the request of the Minister for Finance, or in response to changes such as a significant drop in cash demand or new census data, and to advise the Minister for Finance if we believe that adjustments to the criteria are required.  

Designation of entities responsible for ensuring compliance with access to cash criteria

The Act provides a mechanism for designating credit institutions (such as banks and credit unions), which meet certain conditions, to be responsible for ensuring compliance with the access to cash criteria. The Minister for Finance will set these conditions.

The Central Bank will collect and monitor data from credit institutions on a quarterly basis to determine which institutions meet those conditions. The Central Bank will formally designate credit institutions that meet these conditions and will keep this under review each quarter to ensure that additional credit institutions are designated if they meet the conditions. Conversely, credit institutions will no longer be designated if they cease to meet the conditions.

Registration and oversight of ATM deployers and cash-in-transit companies

The Act recognises that ATM deployers and CITs play an important role in ensuring access to cash and supporting the national cash cycle respectively.  Under the Act, the Central Bank has responsibility for registering and overseeing ATM deployers and cash-in-transit (CIT) providers. 

ATM Service Standards

In 2026, we will publish regulations for minimum ATM service standards, which will include requirements relating to the hours of ATM availability, cash withdrawal limits and banknote denominations available from ATMs. We intend to consult on these standards by the end of 2025.  

Data collection and publication

The Central Bank will collect and publish information relating to the cash infrastructure across Ireland.

  • We will begin to gather and publish data in relation to the number, location and hours of availability of ATMs and cash service points (e.g. retail bank branches and post offices) in each of the NUTS3 regions of Ireland (namely Border, West, Mid-West, South-East, South-West, Dublin, Mid-East, Midlands) on a quarterly basis.  

  • The Minister for Finance may, in future, also request the Central Bank to collect and publish information relating to cash infrastructure, such as the number and value of cash withdrawals from ATMs and cash service points, the average hours of unavailability of particular classes of ATMs, the total of each banknote denomination withdrawn from ATMs, and any other relevant statistical information related to cash infrastructure.

Local deficiencies

While the access to cash criteria for each NUTS3 region is intended to ensure ongoing reasonable access to cash, the Act also provides for the identification of local deficiencies – i.e. where particular difficulties in accessing cash may still arise in certain areas.

The Act provide relevant examples such as:

  • The number of people impacted
  • The location of cash infrastructure
  • The demand for cash
  • Travel and geographic factors
  • Demographics and financial inclusion.

From mid-2026, the Central Bank will be responsible for reviewing notifications from the public where they believe insufficient access to cash services may exist in an area.   We will review all relevant factors to determine if a local deficiency exists. Where we make such a determination, we will notify the designated entities of the deficiency and request that they address the deficiency and, if necessary, we can take measures such as issuing directions that they address the deficiency.

We will develop and consult on guidelines about how individuals and businesses can notify us about a potential local deficiency. These guidelines will outline the factors relevant to assessing if a local deficiency exists.