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Affected by banking desertification, the town of Oise had to call on a money conveyor to install an automatic cash dispenser. A situation which testifies to the disappearance of many services in medium-sized towns.
It’s a big white block in the middle of the Place de la République in Nogent-sur-Oise. A surveillance camera, a door with an eyelet and, above all, an automatic cash machine (ATM). There is no bank nearby but many shops. This withdrawal terminal is a “Point Cash” – it is written on it – from the money transfer company Brink’s. A new tool, at the expense of the municipalities, to fight against banking desertification at work in many French municipalities: between 2018 and 2020, the country lost nearly 3,000 distributors out of just over 50,000 assets according to the Banque de France, a decrease of just over 7%.
On the square, the historic center of Nogent-sur-Oise, you can find a bit of everything: a bakery, a butcher, a mini-market, a café, a hairdresser or even a florist. But until July 2020 and the installation of the ATM, it took thirty minutes on foot round trip to withdraw money at the nearest bank, in front of the town hall. “It had become impossible, testifies an elderly local woman who walks with the help of a cane. This new terminal changes our lives, and then it brings the neighborhood back to life! ”
The same goes for the neighboring butcher’s shop. “It has increased our turnover a little, notes the boss, Noureddin …