Only 695 out of the 2,861 communes in Romania have an ATM, Romania’s central bank data requested by ZF show. The central bank does not monitor this in its reports but gets have such data from commercial banks. This is the first time the number of cash dispensers in each city and commune in Romania has been published.
Starting from the Caracal case when a girl in the Diosti commune in Dolj County wanted to go to the nearest ATM because she had none in her hometown and met a tragic end (i.e. she had to hitch a ride to Caracal, has not been seen since, police is still investigating the case), ZF requested from Romania’s central bank information about all the ATMs in the country.
In rural areas, there are 1,045 ATMs deployed in 695 communes. People in the other 2,166 communes do not have access to a cash dispenser in their hometowns. For instance, the nearest ATM to the Dor Marunt commune in Calarasi County is in Lehliu-Gara (Calarasi), which is 11 kilometers away.
A person living in Dalga village of Dor Marunt that ZF interviewed said people there would badly need at least one ATM.
“There are several hundred people who get their salaries and pensions deposited on cards and the nearest ATM is 11 kilometers away in Lehliu-Gara. One must take a bus or the train to get there only to spend five minutes in front of an ATM. It’s a waste of time and resources,” said Maria C. in Dalga village.
“People here in Corod commune are really angry that the BCR ATM that was in place was removed this year. We pay hefty fees to banks and it would only be natural for the banking system to provide basic services such an ATM. Corod is a big commune, over 7,000 people,” said Alice Boghitoiu, local councilor in Corod.
“It is not OK to not have an ATM. Many people get money from relatives abroad but going to Tecuci to withdraw it and coming back costs 20 lei by minibus. Do we still have a central bank? What is CEC doing, with it being a Romanian-owned bank an all?
In Certesti commune of Galati County, mayor Daniel Cotoranu requested ATMs from CEC and Banca Transilvania on behalf of the people he represents but to no avail.
There are more than 10,500 ATMs in Romania, most of which, 9,488, in cities, according to central bank data.
The financial intermediation, calculated as a ratio of the bank assets and GDP is only 50% in Romania, the lowest in the European Union and the question is how can it improve if a basic service like a cash dispenser is not guaranteed in all cities and towns of Romania? State-run bank CEC, which should make it a mission to provide basic banking services to Romania’s population, made EUR75 million profit in 2018.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)