Central Bank of Ireland publishes first access to cash report

The Central Bank of Ireland has today (24 February) published its first quarterly Access to Cash report (XLSX 3.91MB).

The Finance (Provision of Access to Cash Infrastructure) Act 2025 has put in place a framework to ensure sufficient and effective access to cash across the State.

Today’s report uses newly collected data to show the number, location and opening hours of ATMs and cash service points across eight geographical regions in Ireland, as of 31 December 2025.

The Minister for Finance set the access to cash criteria in November 2025.  These criteria include the minimum percentage of the population in each region that must be within 10km of an ATM and a cash service point, as well as the minimum number of ATMs per 100,000 people in each region. The current criteria aim to maintain the number of ATMs and cash service points at 2022 levels, accounting for KBC and Ulster Bank’s exits from the market.

The Central Bank monitors whether these criteria are met. It is the responsibility of designated entities (currently AIB, Bank of Ireland and Permanent TSB) to address identified shortfalls, and the Central Bank has written to them today in this regard.

Today’s report shows that, overall, the cash infrastructure in Ireland remains largely in line with the criteria set by the Minister. There are just over four thousand ATMs in Ireland, and just over 1200 cash service points.  There are six instances where the criteria are not met. In all those cases, the shortfall relative to expected levels of the cash infrastructure is small.

Deputy Governor Vasileios Madouros said: “The Central Bank is committed to ensuring that cash is available and accessible as a means of payment. Today’s publication is an important part of our work to safeguard sufficient and effective access to cash by consumers and businesses across the country.

“The data shows that Ireland’s cash infrastructure is largely in line with the criteria set by the Minister for Finance.

“However, there are some instances where the criteria are not met, and this will need to be rectified by the firms responsible under the legislation. We have outlined the identified shortfalls to firms, and they will provide us with their proposals to address these in the coming weeks.

“We also recognise that, at a more local level, there may be specific challenges in accessing cash. From July onwards, people can make a submission to the Central Bank if they believe there is a local deficiency in relation to access to cash. We have a public consultation currently live outlining the guidelines and our proposed approach to assessing local deficiencies. I encourage people to visit our website where they can provide their feedback before the consultation closes on 4 March.”

ATM Proximity Criteria: The percentage of the population that should be within 10km of an ATM in each NUTS 3 region

ATM Capacity Criteria: The number of ATMs that should be available per 100,000 people per NUTS 3 region

Cash Service Point (CSP) Proximity Criteria: The percentage of the population that should be within 10km of a CSP in each NUTS 3 region

ENDS

Notes to the Editor

A cash service point is a location at which cash services are provided by, or on behalf of, a designated entity. Cash services are a service whereby cash (banknotes and coins) may be deposited and withdrawn by individuals and SMEs and where in-person assistance is available.

Further Information

Further information on Access to Cash can be found on the Central Bank of Ireland website.

Elaine Scanlon 087 2136313 / [email protected]

Media Relations: [email protected]