Chairman I declare that I’m an employee of a financial institution in Singapore.
In response to a PQ I filed earlier this year, DPM Gan – in his capacity as Chairman of the MAS – noted that over the past 10 years, banks in Singapore have been rationalising their off-premise ATMs and bank branches at an average rate of 2% annually due to the rise in digital payments.
Chairman, I agree that there is a clear rise in digital payments. However, even as ATM withdrawals fell by 13.6% from 2018 to 2024, dropping to $55.1 billion, the decline was modest. There continues to be 158 million ATM withdrawals in 2024, despite the proliferation of digital payments today. This suggests very strongly that demand for cash and ATM services continue to be resilient and important to Singaporeans.
Yet drawing from my experience in Rivervale Sengkang, an estate with over 18,000 households, ATMs are only found at 2 locations: Rivervale Mall and Rivervale Plaza. This has been a challenge for existing residents for many years now, and especially for particular communities such as seniors and Persons with Disabilities.
This concern is even more salient in the relatively new BTO cluster at Rivervale Shores, where there is a meaningful proportion of 2 room flexi flats, which typically house elderly residents. We have close to 1,100 2-room flexi flats out of a total of 2,500 units for this BTO project, the largest HDB BTO project in Singapore to date. Even as there are existing commercial facilities in the project, including supermarkets and shops, the nearest ATMs at Rivervale Plaza is thus more than a 20 minute walk away, and likely much more for the elderly and less mobile.
Many residents have frequently shared feedback with me on the lack of ATMs in the vicinity of Rivervale Shores, despite the availability of digital payments for the F&B and shops located in the same estate. I had sought the help of Sengkang Town Council and the HDB in the past years to seek the support of all three local banks, DBS, UOB and OCBC in installing an ATM, but to no avail. The reality is that the provision of ATMs is determined by the business decisions of the banks and their appointed service providers.
It is only earlier this year that, with the kind reconsideration of the management team of DBS, that they have responded favourably, sharing that, “we recognise the importance of convenient banking access for Sengkang residents”.
I am very grateful to the management team of FairPrice for exploring an ATM solution with DBS, and in particular, DBS bank itself of course, for responding to our appeal on behalf of our residents, and also to the HDB commercial team for according this project due consideration and support.
Returning to DPM Gan’s reply to my PQ, he said and I quote: “MAS will continue to work with banks to ensure there is enough ATMs and bank branches for the convenience of customers, and also encourage customers to use digital banking services as an alternative to cash transactions.”
From a commercial point of view, I believe some of the factors considered by banks when locating their ATMs and bank branches include footfall, transaction volume, population density, and proximity to public transportation nodes. However, there might be certain locations that may not fully meet these criteria and yet, have a sizeable population of residents that require such banking facilities on a day-to-day basis.
Therefore, I believe that we ought to go further; the MAS, HDB, and banks should collaborate to actively identify underserved communities in existing and future HDB towns and ensure that there are banking facilities within easy reach; through regulatory changes, if necessary, rather than simply having it dictated by the free market and banks’ commercial interests.
