Germany’s Explosive ATM Problem

If you have a problem with robbers blowing up your ATMs, ink or glue could be a solution.

A Cash Country

In Germany, robbers have been exploding an increasing number of ATMs. Up by 26.5% in 2022 over 2021 (the most recent data), the problem should not surprise us. Ascending from 392 in 2021 to 496 in 2022, by April 2023, ATM thieves had accelerated their pace to 47 explosions.

At approximately 53,000, Germany has an unusually large number of ATMs because people prefer cash. According to Reuters, a second reason is the high speed Autobahns that make an especially fast getaway to the Netherlands possible.

The numbers show a disproportionate number of ATM explosive robberies in North Rhine-Westphalia, an area adjacent to the Netherlands:

Reuters illustrated some of the ATM “target locations:”

In Germany, residents don’t want nearby ATMs. With more than one a day being blown up, the caution makes sense. To dissuade would be robbers, some ATMs activate an ink or glue spurt when an explosion occurs, thereby making the cash unusable. However, as an alternative to the explosive approach, some robbers haul away the whole machine.

Our Bottom Line: Using Cash

As economists, we can ask which people like to use cash and why. The European Central Bank tells us that an older, less educated, lower income population prefers cash while FP says that Germans tend to worry about political and financial crises because of their history. However, as you might expect, the world is moving in the opposite direction. Increasingly, younger shoppers use debit cards. Bowing to practicality, some German municipalities are prohibiting cash payments on their buses. Responding, spenders say their privacy is at stake:

But still, expressing a preference for cash transactions, Germany was in the #2 slot for eurozone countries:

My sources and more: To learn more about why Germany is a cash country, Spiegel had many of the facts while Foreign Policy had the psychology. Then, leaping to exploding ATMs, Sherwood,  this Reuter’s article, and Bloomberg have all we need to know.