To address a growing gap in cash availability across rural Austria, the Oesterreichische Nationalbank (OeNB) has begun installing its own ATMs. The first machine was inaugurated Tuesday in Obritzberg-Rust, Lower Austria. Over the next two years, up to 120 additional cash machines will be deployed nationwide.

According to OeNB data analyzed by APA, more than 330,000 Austrians currently live in municipalities without a single ATM—about 4% of the total population. In total, 342 municipalities are affected, either lacking both a bank branch and ATM (328) or having only a limited-hour bank branch without a machine (14).

Niederösterreich and Burgenland Most Affected

Niederösterreich is the hardest-hit region, with over 116,000 residents (7% of the local population) in 113 municipalities without ATM access. Upper Austria follows with more than 61,000 affected residents across 60 municipalities, while Styria reports 48,000 people in 28 such areas. Burgenland counts nearly 43,000 residents across 52 municipalities without machines.

While Salzburg is the least affected, with only 3,000 residents in 6 communities lacking access, Vienna has no such issue—data from its 23 districts shows full coverage.

Long Distances to Nearest ATM

Beyond the absence of ATMs, some rural residents face long travel distances to access cash. In Lower Austria’s Gmünd district, six municipalities have no ATM within five kilometers. In the districts of Horn and Waidhofen an der Thaya, four and three municipalities respectively face similar challenges.

Burgenland also shows significant gaps: seven communities in Güssing and four in Oberwart are located more than five kilometers from the nearest cash machine.

OeNB’s 2024 data shows that 87 municipalities lacked an ATM within a five-kilometer radius, and in six of them, the closest ATM was over ten kilometers away.