• Neil Martin, Managing Director, UK, Ireland, Nordics and Benelux at NCR Atleos


• 05.11.2025 02:15 pm
#DigitalFinance #FintechInfrastructure

In recent years, financial services have poured energy into the digital experience through mobile apps, instant payments and cloud settlements. But even as we move further online, the strength of these systems still depends on something more concrete: the physical network that keeps money moving when software can’t.

The question isn’t whether finance should be digital-first. It’s whether we can afford to forget the physical structures that hold it all together.

Why physical access still matters

Across the UK, new self-service cash access points are appearing in communities, local retail hubs and high streets, with almost 100 deposit capable ATMs being introduced to support a wider effort to maintain nationwide access to cash. These sites are not simply a matter of convenience; they represent continuity for local economies. 

For people travelling long distances, service workers paid in cash, or small businesses managing takings, these access points are critical infrastructure for connecting digital finance to the real world. They keep the flow between physical and digital finance intact and ensure people can withdraw, deposit or manage funds securely wherever they are.

This isn’t nostalgia for the high-street bank branch; it’s an observation about continuity. Finance today is tightly interlinked where a single outage or cyber incident can ripple through payment channels in minutes. Which means, the more digital our systems get, the more we will need to rely on the physical links that hold them together.

The numbers that won’t disappear

You can see the pattern in the data. Cash in circulation keeps rising, even as people use it less often. In the eurozone, notes in circulation are worth €1\.58 trillion, up 58% since 2014. In the United States, $2.4 trillion was in circulation in September 2025, a 2.45% year-on-year increase. And in South Africa, around 86% of transactions still involve cash.

Those figures are not evidence of resistance to innovation, but of the structural role cash plays in maintaining confidence and liquidity when digital systems can be disrupted.

Banking hubs and shared systems

The same applies to access. In the UK, banking hubs are filling gaps left by branch closures. Across the US and Europe, shared ATM networks are becoming multi-bank service platforms that handle both withdrawals and deposits. Together, they form part of a wider, connected utility that supports financial stability.

As banks streamline their estates and regulators tighten requirements on inclusion, these networks keep physical access in step with digital progress. They also offer the operational resilience that pure online systems can’t always guarantee.

Even so, the picture is still incomplete. Banking hubs and shared systems have made good progress but only begin to fill the space left by branches. More choice and better access points are needed to make everyday banking as easy as it once was. The shift towards shared infrastructure is encouraging, but it’s only scratched the surface of what’s required to keep access practical, local and reliable.

Designing for co-existence

Regulators are rightly paying closer attention to how physical and digital systems interact, particularly as consumers demand both convenience and contingency. This requires modern infrastructure that is efficient, secure and sustainable, but also rooted in physical presence.

The physical network, from ATMs to shared banking hubs to retailer located shared banking ATM service points, remains the connective tissue of the financial system. It enables participation in the digital economy for those who rely on cash, while ensuring that when systems fail, business and everyday life do not.

The real challenge for the industry isn’t choosing between digital and physical. It’s learning how to design for both, because lasting stability will always rely on that balance.