The Bank of France released the National Payments Committee (CNMP) annual 2024 report updating the assessment of access to cash in metropolitan France, alongside a detailed map of cash access points. The update concludes that accessibility to banknotes remained at a very high level in 2024, with territorial coverage broadly stable year on year. More than 99% of the metropolitan population aged 15 and over lives in a municipality with at least one cash access point or within a 15-minute drive of the nearest equipped municipality. Per the European Central Bank’s SPACE 2024 survey, 91% of French respondents consider access to cash “easy” or “very easy”. The number of automated teller machine (ATM) sites fell by 1.9% in 2024, but the number of municipalities with at least one ATM site stayed stable at around 6,500 and increased by 24 (+0.4%); retailer-based cash distribution services expanded by 3.9% to 28,479 points by end-2024. ATMs in operation declined to 42,578 at end-2024 from 44,123 a year earlier (-3.5%), with reductions concentrated in the most populated municipalities and a smaller decrease in municipalities with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants (-1.7%), against a backdrop of continued decline in cash usage as a payment method. The Ministry of the Economy, Finance and Industrial and Digital Sovereignty and the Bank of France indicated they remain attentive to preserving citizens’ access to cash.
Bank of France 2025-07-24
Bank of France publishes CNMP 2024 update showing cash access remains high with over 99% of residents within 15 minutes of a withdrawal point
The Bank of France's National Payments Committee 2024 report highlights that access to cash in metropolitan France remains high, with over 99% of the population having access within a 15-minute drive. Despite a 3.5% decline in ATMs to 42,578, retailer-based cash distribution points increased by 3.9% to 28,479. The Ministry of the Economy and the Bank of France are committed to maintaining cash accessibility amid declining cash usage.