Nearly seventy Andalusian municipalities do not have an ATM to withdraw money

In fact, Cortelazor does not have an ATM. This means there is nowhere to get money. Its mayor, Ainoa González, is delighted. In In a few days, one will be released thanks to the agreement recently signed by the Provincial Delegation of Huelva to install a good number of them in the municipalities of the province that do not yet have them.

“It’s a problem for a lot of people all the time. When you need money or you have to pay a bill, the issue becomes complicated because not everyone has a bizum,” explains the mayor, also recalling that this is a municipality in which, as is the case in others of the same magnitude, elderly people live there, many of whom They do not have a vehicle to get to the nearest place where one exists and which, most of the time, is several kilometers away.

How do they do it? In your case there is a bus (which is put into circulation by the Junta de Andalucía) twice a week in Cortelazor and take the neighbors to Aracena, so they can use the ATM there or do the necessary paperwork. In this case, since it is also free for neighbors, it is almost always full.

It is for this reason that the Town Hall is delighted with the imminent implementation of a new system in the city which will save them from having to travel. “It means a lot more independence and solvency. And above all, they don’t need to depend too much to pay their bills or to know what they have in the bank”, explains the first municipal councilor who welcomes this as excellent news for the population. “Let’s see if he arrives before doing the zambomba”, he jokes.

In his case, the town, despite the few inhabitants, has, as he says, “everything”. There is a pharmacy, a doctor, a store, bars and a school (although only fifteen children study there). For this reason, the mayor, who recalls that they have launched a campaign to bring in more children and thus avoid the closure of the educational center, claims to have “the services covered” and demands an increase in the number of social workers who must serve several cities at the same time and are sometimes insufficient.

He is not the only one

The case of Cortelazor is not the only one among small towns that do not have an ATM in Andalusia. According to data from The Institute of Statistics and Cartography has nearly seventy people throughout the community. Concretely, 68 localities (mostly districts or villages) still do not have this service, which is considered basic.

The province where there are the most municipalities without ATM is that of Almería, where up to twenty. Malaga follows with a total of 19; then Huelva chooses 11; Grenada with 9; Córdoba with 4 and Jaén with as many and Seville where there is only one. Cádiz is the only Andalusian province where no town has an ATM to withdraw money.

In reality, there should be fewer since the Andalusian government and some provincial town halls are launching campaigns to put an end to this situation and bring this basic service to depopulated municipalities.

In the case of the Junta de Andalucía, it launched a campaign against what we call “financial exclusion” to cover the installation and operating costs of the vending machines which closed on October 31 with a positive result.

This is a line of subsidies, managed by Andalucía Trade, which covers 100% of related expenses both the suitability of the land where the ATM is located and the installation, commissioning, maintenance and operation of the service. This is intended to cover, from the Public Administration, a public service intended for small towns, where the profitability criteria do not allow private initiative to be achieved.

With a total workforce of 300,000 euros, born from a pilot experience and technical estimates initially indicated the possibility of installing up to 15 ATMs; However, the applications submitted exceeded initial estimates.

In total, local entities presented projects for 18 urban areas, so that nearly 14,000 rural residents They will be able to have an access point to cash and basic banking services in their own municipality.

The response was also very balanced territorially, with initiatives of five Andalusian provinces: Cádiz, Cordoba, Granada, Malaga and Seville. The rural centers of municipalities such as Alhaurín el Grande, Fuente Palmera, Cúllar Vega, Igualeja, Las Cabezas de San Juan, Sedella, Vejer de la Frontera, Los Palacios and Villafranca, Alcalá del Río and Medina Sidonia, among others, have been included, which strengthens the backbone of the measure.

Equal opportunities

This is a measure which, according to the Ministry of the Treasury, “contributes to strengthening equal opportunities between citizens, wherever they live”.

The Ministry of the Economy, Finance, European Funds and Social Dialogue underlines that this initiative contributes to combating financial exclusion and stopping the rural exodus, thus facilitating the daily life of citizens. especially the elderlywho have more difficulty using digital channels and traveling to other locations to carry out basic procedures.

Thanks to the installation of ATMs in these centers, residents no longer need to travel to other municipalities to withdraw money, pay bills and taxes or check balances and movements. In this way, they save time and money, reduce their dependence on family or acquaintances and improve security by avoiding monetary transfers. In addition, local commerce is encouraged, which increases circulation and small collections and payments are made easier.

The Council’s design subsidizes projects not only in municipalities, but also in dependent population centers – districts, villages and secondary centers. of more than 500 inhabitants. In many cases, these centers are far from municipal headquarters and their residents have had to travel to withdraw money or carry out basic procedures.

This is the case of Villa del Guadalhorce, Alhaurín el Grande neighborhood (Málaga) where an ATM has already been installed as part of this initiative, which has meant that residents no longer have to travel by road to Coín (around 10 km) or to Alhaurín itself (around 11 km). In fact, the majority of applications submitted correspond precisely to these cores, which extends the actual coverage beyond the municipal seat.

The plan launched by the Provincial Delegation of Huelva aims to reach the smallest villages, promote equality and territorial cohesionI and improve the quality of life of the population in any corner of the province.