October the 18th, 2021 - As many as half of all Croatian ATMs could end up being put out of use as a result of incoming regulations which involve the safety and security of ATM machines.
As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, there are very many Croatian ATMs, and it's always quite amusing to be strolling through an ancient street steeped in history and come across an ATM lodged in the wall. While perhaps not always that tasteful, they're certainly handy.
The Republic of Croatia has 6,000 ATMs, and half of them could be shut down and removed due to the introduction of additional regulations for the protection and security of ATMs, as was reported by HTV's Potrosacki kod (Spender's code). That's a very large expense indeed for banks should it occur.
They have already abolished Croatian ATMs for which they estimated that the cost of their maintenance is greater than the benefit they have from the amount of turnover and the number of customers they get. According to these new regulations, greater security of the banking network is necessary in order to reduce criminal actions taking place at ATMs.
Banks should therefore invest several thousand euros into ATM security, and as a result of that expensive move, some have announced the withdrawal of some Croatian ATMs from use entirely, especially those in rural areas which simply can't afford such a security undertake.
However, not everything is so bleak and the banks are asking the Ministry of the Interior (MUP) for a compromise solution regarding the security of Croatian ATMs, because they are now investing 80 to 100 million euros into their IT systems in order to convert the kuna into the euro, which is necessary due to Croatian Eurozone accession, which is edging ever closer now.
The Ministry of the Interior says that it is prescribed that ATMs are protected by an electrochemical protection system which permanently marks and destroys banknotes in an attempted violent burglary. ATMs protected by this system already must bear a prominent indication of that type of protection in a visible place so that all users are aware of it.
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