ATM's may leave rural locations as banks sell them off

There are warnings ATM services may need to be subsidised, as retail banks sell the machines to private operators.

The Central Bank says only 25 per cent of ATMs will be operated by retail banks by the end of the year, compared to 100 per cent in 2015. Bank of Ireland and AIB sold a combined 1,200 machines to unregulated operators in the past three years. The government is considering giving the Central Bank the power to regulate non-banking cash machine operators.