Central Bank of Iran data indicates a slight decline in the number of automated teller machines operating in one year.
In the last fiscal year (March 2019-20) banks and credit institutions removed 914 ATMs from their payment systems putting the total teller machines at 56,616, down 1.5%.
Tehran Province had the most ATMs with 13,264 in use in the densely populated region, accounting for more than 23% of the total, the CBI website reported.
With 5,153 ATMs, Bank Saderat Iran had the highest number of ATMs across the country -- 9% of the total.
This was followed with Bank Melli Iran, the largest state-owned lender, with 4,946 and Bank Mellat with 4,934. Lenders with the lowest numbers were Export Development Bank of Iran (the main export sector lender), Bank of Industries and Mine and Tose'e Credit Institution, respectively with 43, 67 and 82 machines.
A total of 63,208 PIN pad devices were installed in the banks and credit institutions by March 2020 with 13,000 in Tehran.
A PIN pad or PIN entry device (PED) is a device similar to a point of sale (POS) with the difference being that PIN pads are used inside the banks to help customers use banking services more easily.
ATMs processed more than 5.39 billion transactions during the last fiscal year. Transaction conducted by PIN pad devices were at 341.85 million.
Per Capita
Despite the minor decline in the number of ATMs, World Bank data shows that it is still way above the global average.
The average for 2018 based on data collected from 145 countries was 56.11 ATMs per 100,000 adults. World Bank data shows in 2019 there were 87.69 ATMs per 100,000 adult population in Iran, placing it at 28th in the world.
Macau, a Chinese Special Administrative Region, had the highest ATM density with 324.6 ATMs per 100,000 adults. This was followed by Canada. Despite its low population density, the country has the second highest ATM density in the world. There were around 220.6 ATMs per 100,000 people in the country.
San Marino, a tiny enclaved microstate located on the Italian Peninsula, ranked the third with around 191.4 ATMs per 100,000 individuals.
The WB survey showed that there were a larger number of ATMs per 100,000 people in high income countries compared to those at the lower end of the economic ladder.
Afghanistan, Niger and Haiti had the lowest number of ATMs in 2018 with 1.6 and 1.66, and 2.09 sets per 100,000 adult population.
This is while Britain, Germany, and France had the highest number of machines in the Euro region during the period under review.
