The second initiative, which also aims to respond to the increasingly glaring lack of cash dispensers in our country, is called Batopin and dates back to 2020. It is the name of a company created by four major banks: Belfius, BNP Paribas Fortis, CBC and ING. “Batopin started from a blank slate to design a new network of ATMs which is intended to replace the existing ATMs of the four banks by being better adapted to new needs, explains Vincent Bayer, Batopin’s spokesman.
A neutral network
“The idea was to install a neutral network that is no longer attached to the banks, that is detached from the banks precisely to no longer be dependent on where an agency rents or rented its offices, but to allow the right places to be chosen, continues the spokesman of Batopin. And these good places are where people are really looking for cash: in shopping malls, in neighborhoods where there are a lot of shops, in neighborhoods where there are also a lot of cafes and restaurants, near public squares where you have regular weekly markets that are organized, and on the daily journey to work, shopping and leisure. This is why, among other things, we signed a contract with the SNCB to be present in a series of stations in the country.“
In total, Batopin plans to set up 720 distributors by 2025.
