Text: XiaoQing
According to the overall operation of the payment system in 2021 announced by the central bank, the bank will handle a total of 274.969 billion electronic payment business in 2021, with an amount of 2976.22 trillion yuan. Among them, the mobile payment business totaled 151.228 billion cases, with an amount of 526.98 trillion yuan, an increase of more than 20% year-on-year. It has to be said that mobile payment can complete the payment with a gentle sweep, and it is natural that the growth rate is so fast.
In addition, the QR code for collection can be seen everywhere in restaurants, shopping malls, hotels, buses and street vendors' stalls. In the scan code payment, the biggest 2 winners are Alipay and WeChat. Alipay started on Taobao and has an absolute advantage in online shopping, while WeChat quickly occupied the market through red envelopes.
According to iResearch, Alipay's market share is as high as 56%, and WeChat's market share has reached 39%, which basically monopolizes the mobile payment market. At the same time, I don't know if anyone has found that in the past 2 years, the number of bank branches on the street is quietly decreasing, and the number of ATMs is also decreasing.
How long have you not been to the bank to withdraw cash?
A website has studied the number of times people use ATMs, and more than half of them don't use ATMs for half a year. In most cases, except for the need to save money after receiving red envelopes during the Spring Festival, many young people seem to have never been to a bank. Especially after the advent of the Internet era, the major businesses of banks are no longer favored.
Young people have deposited money into the WeChat balance or Alipay's "balance treasure". Moreover, the facts also prove the decline of bank branches. As early as November 30, 2020, according to the statistics of financial license information, 6280 commercial bank outlets have been shut down in 2 years, and the banking industry has set off a "shutdown tide" of outlets, which large state-owned banks cannot avoid.
In the "Overall Operation of the Payment System in 2020", as of the end of December 2020, the number of ATMs has dropped to 1.0139 million units, 83,900 units less than in 2019. Bank branches and ATMs are more or less affected by mobile payments, after all, many operations can be done through mobile phones, and there is no need to go to the bank.
So, where is the future of ATMs?
In fact, with the continuous improvement of China's scientific and technological level in recent years, the traditional counters of banks are no longer favored by young people. But what many people don't know is that ATMs are not set in stone, and regulations on bank withdrawals are constantly evolving.
Under the premise that young people do not use much and the elderly do not use it, the bank has made a major update to its business and launched a new business of ATM machine "brush face withdrawal". Simply put, users can withdraw money without carrying a bank card in the future, just brush their face, and the money can be withdrawn.
2.6 trillion old people withdraw money more easily
Even if mobile payments have become mainstream in the market, cash is unlikely to be eliminated. According to the 2021 China economic data released by the National Bureau of Statistics, the population aged 60 and over reached 267.36 million, accounting for 18.9% of the national population. Experts from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences also predict that China may experience negative population growth in 2022 and enter an aging society faster.
According to statistics, among the 336 cities at the prefecture level and above in the country, 149 cities account for more than 14% of the population aged 65 and above, entering a deeply aging society. As a result, for the elderly who do not use smartphones, they still rely on cash to shop, and many countries abroad are still dominated by cash. Nowadays, ATMs have achieved card-free withdrawals, so that the elderly can withdraw money more easily and avoid problems such as card swallowing, forgetfulness, and incomplete documents.
In fact, with the increase in the proportion of the aging population in the mainland, the task of bank business halls has become more and more arduous. In order to better help people in need to complete the corresponding business, the functions of ATMs are also constantly enriched. But what many people don't know is that when the ATM machine was first put into use, its price was as high as 300,000 yuan per set.
ATMs are more affordable
The data shows that the average price of ATMs has gradually dropped from 300,000 units 10 years ago to 50,000 units today. With lower prices, the cost of ATMs will be greatly reduced. In fact, in addition to handling daily deposit and withdrawal business, ATM also has a function, that is, to withdraw social security balances.
If there is social security, it is very convenient to use an ATM machine. While mobile payment is very convenient for us, it is ultimately based on currency, so banks will not be replaced by other software for a long time, and ATMs will not be obsolete. Coupled with the emergence of the face brush function, the use rate of ATMs has been improved.
In general, the number of ATMs equipped with face recognition systems is still relatively small, and the low coverage rate is also the reason why many ATMs have disappeared. However, judging from the current consumption habits of young people, even if it is fully covered, ATMs are still not favored by young people. Do you think face brush payments can change the future of ATMs?