Second-highest worldwide | Macau ATM density continues to soar

Macau has the world’s second-highest density of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) with 254 ATMs per 100,000 adults in 2015, according to a report issued last year by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The data, published in the IMF’s Financial Access Survey, shows a spike in Macau’s ATM density over the last decade, coinciding with or resulting from the growth of the local gaming industry. In 2005, there were just 56 ATMs per 100,000 adults, 4.5 times fewer than in 2015.

The average number of ATMs in Macau per 100,000 adults far outstrips the regional average of 52 in East Asia and the Pacific. The world average stood at about 40.5 in 2015, up from fewer than 16 a decade earlier.

Hong Kong came in slightly below the regional average with around 50 ATMs per 100,000 adults. China had about 76 ATMs per 100,000 adults, up from just nine in 2006.

South Korea topped the global rankings with 278 ATMs per 100,000 adults, followed by the MSAR (254), Canada (220), Portugal (174) and Russia (173).

The survey also noted that ATM density in the world’s poorest nations has significantly risen over the last decades. However, the growing popularity of mobile phones as a means to store, send and receive money somewhat distorts the survey results. DB

Categories Macau