Macau world’s second densest ATM hotspot
IMF report shows gaming hub topped only by South Korea for number of ‘holes in the wall’ per head, as access to cash also widens in poor countries
As the reality of how much you spent over the festive season dawns at the ATM, and you consider the fast-approaching financial hit Year of the Rooster celebrations will provide, take a second to consider how ubiquitous “hole in the wall’’ cash dispensing has become.
In the smartphone age, in which digital currencies bring the promise of a cashless society ever closer, the increasingly humble-looking automated teller machine is still king for most of us. And nowhere is that truer than in Macau, which is now more densely packed with ATMs than almost anywhere else on the planet.
According to a major study by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) – updated since its initial release late last year – only South Korea has more cash machines per head than the former Portuguese enclave.
The IMF’s annual Financial Access Survey – which is backed by arguably the world’s wealthiest couple, Bill and Melinda Gates – found that in 2015, Macau had 254 ATMs per 100,000 adults, just short of South Korea with 278 per 100,000 adults.
Using the same measure, Hong Kong has five times fewer ATMs per head than its sister special administrative region, with just 49 cash dispensers per 100,000 adults.