Cash machines installed at off-site locations now outnumber those deployed in bank branches, according to an annual study of the ATM market in Western Europe.
The study by Retail Banking Research (RBR), which covers 18 countries, found that for the first time ever, off-site ATMs outnumber lobby installations.
Overall the research shows that growth rate of the western European ATM market recovered slightly from an all time low of 4.0% in 2005 to 4.4% in 2006. Around 14,295 new machines were installed during 2006, bringing the total number of ATMs in the region to 342,495.
Although Turkey was found to be the fastest growing market, the UK remains the largest with 60,642 ATMs. Spain, which had the leading position in 2003, is in second place with 57,989 machines, followed by Germany with 53,630 units.
Just three countries - the UK, Italy and Spain - account for more than half of the growth in ATM installations, says RBR. The five largest markets in Western Europe - the UK, Spain, Germany, France and Italy - account for 77% of the installed base.
The research also found that European vendor Wincor Nixdorf's increased its market share of the ATM market to 27% of the region's installed base. Meanwhile Windows XP doubled its market share from 15% to 30% during 2006.