Access to cash is a crucial factor for most residents across EU Member States, including Latvia. Ensuring a sufficiently broad network of automated teller machines (ATMs) across Latvia, where residents can withdraw a certain amount of cash without incurring commission fees set by credit institutions, serves the public interest.
Amendments to the Credit Institution Law (hereinafter the Law) and Latvijas Banka's Regulation No 330 "Regulation on the Management of the Cash Withdrawal Service" of 29 October 2024 (hereinafter the Regulation), which establish the minimum requirements for access to the cash withdrawal service within the territory of Latvia, came into effect on 1 January 2025.
The regulations outline the following requirements to ensure access to cash:
- at least 99% of Latvian residents must have access to an ATM within a 20-kilometre radius of their residence;
- the minimum number of ATMs within the territory of Latvia must ensure that at least 45 ATMs are available for every 100 000 active credit institution customers across the country;
- the ATM must be available and operational every day for a minimum of 12 hours between 6:00 a.m. and 12:00 a.m. or during the hours when the public space or outdoor area in which it is installed is accessible to residents;
- customers (natural persons) have access to the cash withdrawal service providing at least 750 euro per month free of charge, available through a minimum of five separate withdrawal transactions per month.
The Law specifies which credit institutions are obligated to comply with the aforementioned requirements and ensure they are met. These requirements apply to:
- credit institutions registered in Latvia;
- Latvian branches of foreign credit institutions;
- Latvian branches of credit institutions registered in other European Union Member States.
In addition, credit institutions must meet the following criteria:
- The credit institution provides payment account-related services to European Union residents (consumers) in Latvia.
- The number of the customer payment accounts opened with the credit institution as at 31 December of the previous year represented at least 5% of the total number of payment accounts in Latvia.
- The resident household deposits with this credit institution as at 31 December of the previous year represented at least 5% of the total resident household deposits in Latvia.
Currently, the obligation to provide customers in Latvia with the opportunity to withdraw cash from a payment account applies to the following credit institutions that met the aforementioned criteria as at 31 December 2024:
until 31 December 2024, measures to ensure access to cash for Latvian residents were implemented by Latvijas Banka in collaboration with the Finance Latvia Association and, under a cooperation memorandum, with the banks having the most extensive ATM and branch networks: Swedbank AS, AS SEB banka, Luminor Bank AS Latvia branch, and AS Citadele banka. The cooperation memorandum was first signed in 2021 and was then extended twice. The memorandum affirmed that all parties involved recognise the importance of cash in society and are committed to working together to ensure its availability and enhance its role.
At the same time, recognising the role of financial services, including that of ensuring access to cash, in the event of a potential threat or crisis, a range of critical financial services has been established in the country. Cash payments represent one of such critical services. To ensure access to cash as a critical financial service, a network of critical ATMs, which are supplied with cash first in the event of a crisis, is currently established in the country. The regulation of critical financial services sets additional requirements for these ATMs to ensure their continued operation in the event of power outages and data transmission service disruptions. More detailed information about critical financial services.
According to a population survey conducted by Latvijas Banka and SIA Latvijas Fakti in August 2024, 86% of Latvia's residents are satisfied with their possibilities to withdraw cash from their bank accounts, 8% are dissatisfied, and 4% do not use cash for payments.
"I would like to express my gratitude to the financial sector, including Finance Latvia Association and the largest commercial banks, which, in the autumn of 2021, supported our initiative to maintain the ATM network. The following years were marked by numerous challenges, including significant changes in the geopolitical and security situation, demonstrating that the efforts to ensure access to cash were made with foresight. Cash is a cornerstone of economic security," highlights Jānis Blūms, Head of the Cash Department of Latvijas Banka.
Latvijas Banka oversees measures to ensure access to cash, including the creation and publication of an accessible ATM map that shows almost all ATMs across Latvia and allows users to find the nearest one. To strengthen the resilience of Latvia's financial sector during a crisis, a map has been created highlighting ATMs that will be prioritised for cash supply in the event of a crisis or emergency.