The option to withdraw cash directly from a retailer’s checkout while paying by debit card - a service widely known as cashback - is gradually gaining traction across Europe as an alternative way to access cash.
The model has become particularly relevant in countries where bank branches and ATM networks have shrunk over the past decade. Greece, however, remains among the slowest adopters of the service, despite maintaining an ATM network that is denser than the European Union average.
Cashback allows shoppers to receive cash from the store’s till as part of a debit-card purchase, eliminating the need to visit an ATM. The European Central Bank has identified the service as an important tool for preserving access to cash, particularly in areas where the physical banking infrastructure has been scaled back. As banks continue to rationalize branch and ATM networks across Europe, policymakers increasingly view retailers as part of the solution for maintaining access to cash.
ECB data show that cashback remains a niche service across the euro area. Only a minority of businesses currently offer either cashback or "cash-in-shop" services, and relatively few plan to introduce them in the future.
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Adoption, however, varies widely between countries. Belgium leads the euro area, with 59% of businesses offering cashback, followed by Finland at 55% and Ireland at 42%. At the other end of the spectrum, Greece records a rate of just 7%, matching Italy. Spain stands at 3%, Austria at 2% and Portugal at only 1%.
The differences become more striking when viewed alongside the availability of ATMs. According to World Bank data, Greece has 68.08 ATMs per 100,000 adults, compared with the European Union average of 63.26. Despite the gradual decline of cash usage, the country continues to maintain a relatively extensive ATM network.
By contrast, several of the countries where cashback is most widespread have significantly fewer ATMs. Ireland, where more than four in ten businesses offer the service, has just 30.15 ATMs per 100,000 adults. Finland, another leader in cashback adoption, has also substantially reduced its physical banking footprint over time. The pattern suggests that cashback has emerged as a practical complement to traditional cash distribution in markets where withdrawing money from an ATM has become less convenient.
Greece presents the opposite picture. The country's comparatively dense ATM network continues to serve as the primary channel for cash withdrawals, reducing the commercial incentive for retailers to offer cashback and limiting consumer demand for the service.
A similar relationship is evident in Austria and Portugal, both of which have some of the highest ATM densities in Europe - 170.06 and 157.80 ATMs per 100,000 adults, respectively - yet among the lowest rates of cashback availability, at just 2% and 1% of businesses. The contrast underscores how the expansion of cashback has been driven less by consumer preference than by the evolution of countries' banking infrastructure.
