Cardless ATM Market Size & Share Analysis - Growth Trends & Forecasts (2025 - 2030)

Global Cardless ATM Market Trends and Insights

Surge in Mobile Banking Adoption

Mobile banking now reaches more than 3.2 billion users worldwide and underpins demand for cardless withdrawals. Markets with mature app ecosystems transition 40% faster toward digital cash access as banks reuse existing in-app authentication for ATM entry. Gen Z’s expectation of friction-free switching between mobile apps and physical touchpoints encourages banks to present cardless ATM entry as a baseline service. In return, institutions report shorter customer onboarding cycles and higher digital engagement. Early adopters secure a defensible lead, compelling slower banks to accelerate mobile platform upgrades to retain share in the cardless ATM market. This shift also enables banks to reduce dependency on plastic cards, aligning with broader ESG and cost-cutting goals. Mobile-first strategies are increasingly central to competitive positioning, especially in emerging markets where app-based banking leapfrogs legacy infrastructure. 

Increasing Demand for Contactless Transactions Post-Pandemic

Pandemic-primed contactless habits are sticky: 29% of UK card activity in 2024 already flowed through digital wallets^{[1]Dentons, “UK Digital Payments Landscape 2024,” dentons.com} . ATM manufacturers and banks share the goal of quicker, cleaner cash access by sidestepping card handling. Biometric authentication trims transaction time by 35%, raising throughput in busy branches. As a result, contactless infrastructure becomes a prerequisite for retention: banks lagging on cardless rollouts risk account attrition, especially in urban markets where convenience benchmarks are dictated by fintech entrants. This trend is reinforced by customer expectations for tap-to-access functionality across all service channels, not just point-of-sale. Financial institutions now view contactless readiness not only as a user convenience but as a competitive hygiene factor. 

Banks’ Cost-Optimization by Reducing Card-Issuance Expenses

Physical card issuance typically costs USD 3–5 per unit. Multiplied across tens of millions of account renewals, the operational outlay steers banks toward digital credentials. Cardless withdrawals curtail replacement and logistics expenses while shrinking skimming exposure at the ATM. Institutions that embed cardless options report lower fraud remediation costs, freeing budgets for experience-focused upgrades. These savings compound under thinning margins, making cardless ATM deployment a board-level cost priority rather than a discretionary tech project. In high-volume markets, the shift also reduces pressure on contact centers by lowering the incidence of lost card reports. Some banks have even reallocated physical card budgets toward enhancing mobile security layers and geofencing capabilities. As digital-native users become the dominant customer segment, the expectation of seamless, card-free access is reshaping how institutions model their infrastructure investment returns. 

Integration of Open-Banking APIs Enabling Third-Party Withdrawals

Europe’s PSD3 blueprint compels banks to publish standardized APIs, allowing licensed providers to initiate cash withdrawals on customers’ behalf. This regimen turns ATMs into open platforms rather than closed proprietary endpoints. Banks that offer rich developer documentation and granular access controls draw fintech partners who bring incremental volume. Those slow to adapt risk losing brand visibility when third-party apps aggregate ATM access under their own banners. As ATM usage becomes decoupled from direct bank interfaces, customer loyalty may shift toward the most seamless access point rather than the underlying account provider. Forward-leaning banks are already piloting API monetization models tied to ATM transactions initiated via third-party ecosystems. PSD3’s push toward interoperability positions API maturity as a key differentiator in Europe’s evolving retail banking landscape. 

Security Concerns Around Mobile/Biometric Authentication

A USD 100,000 phishing incident that hit 125 Fifth Third Bank clients in 2024 illustrated how fraudsters target mobile credential workflows. Unlike password resets, biometric leaks are permanent, so any breach dents consumer confidence far longer. Banks must layer risk scoring, device telemetry, and real-time anomaly detection around biometric flows. Investment in customer education, explaining why the same face unlock that secures a phone can safely open an ATM, becomes critical for further penetration of the cardless ATM market. Additionally, regulators are beginning to scrutinize biometric risk frameworks, urging banks to demonstrate post-breach accountability and resilience. Financial institutions that transparently disclose security protocols and offer opt-in flexibility tend to retain higher trust in biometric-enabled banking. 

High Retrofit CAPEX for Legacy ATM Fleets

Upgrading an older cabinet to support NFC readers, wide-angle cameras, and secure edge processors can cost USD 30,000–40,000 per terminal^{[2]InformationWeek, “The Hidden Cost of ATM Upgrades,” informationweek.com} . Regional banks juggling hundreds of units often stage rollouts across dense urban sites first, leaving rural machines on magnetic-stripe tech. As a result, customer journeys fragment: the same account holder experiences cardless convenience downtown yet still needs a plastic card in smaller towns. This uneven distribution slows network-wide impact on the cardless ATM market until machines cycle out naturally or banks adopt shared white-label pools. For smaller institutions, these costs compete with other digital priorities like app redesigns or core banking migrations. Public-private incentives or vendor financing programs may be necessary to bridge the rollout gap in lower-revenue geographies. 

Segment Analysis

By Technology: Biometrics Move from Proof-of-Concept to Mainstream

NFC retained 42.50% of the cardless ATM market share in 2024, buoyed by universal smartphone compatibility and the ease of tapping a phone to a reader. Biometric authentication, however, is projected to clock a 14.81% CAGR through 2030, the fastest rate across technology groups. This trajectory is tied to tier-1 banks such as JPMorgan Chase extending face and fingerprint sign-in to the ATM fleet, making identity-based access the norm rather than an outlier. 

The upgrade path reflects how security preferences migrate from convenience toward assured identity. Multifactor biometric stacks—combining facial, voice, and fingerprint templates, cut takeover fraud by double-digit percentages, justifying higher hardware costs. QR-codes retain relevance where handset diversity or privacy rules limit biometric capture, while Bluetooth Low-Energy serves niche use cases like gated venues needing short-range interaction. Banks balancing multiple techniques on a single chassis future-proof their estate and widen customer eligibility, enlarging overall participation in the cardless ATM market. 

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

By ATM Location: White-Label and Drive-Through Models Gain Momentum

On-site branch machines still generated 47.51% of 2024 revenue, yet cost-pressured banks increasingly outsource low-margin physical distribution to specialized operators. White-label locations inside convenience chains and drive-through formats are poised to expand at a 13.85% CAGR through 2030. NCR Atleos’ 55,000-strong Allpoint network epitomizes this shift, offering fee-free access that simultaneously deepens customer stickiness for participating challenger banks. These outsourced networks reduce the fixed overhead associated with ATM maintenance, compliance, and cash logistics. As branch footprints shrink, white-label partnerships allow banks to preserve physical access without diluting digital transformation budgets. 

The logistics playbook hinges on aligning machine density with footfall analytics: terminals migrate from marginal branch lobbies to petrol forecourts, grocery aisles, and quick-service restaurants. Drive-through lanes satisfy time-compressed consumers who now expect curbside cash in the same motion as click-and-collect groceries. The resulting distribution model converts capital-intensive ATM ownership into service-level agreements, creating elastic supply for the cardless ATM market. Data-driven deployment also improves service uptime and fraud monitoring, as third-party operators integrate predictive maintenance and cloud-based oversight. Ultimately, this flexible approach allows financial institutions to scale physical infrastructure on-demand without locking into multi-year asset cycles. 

By End-User: Financial Inclusion Expands the Addressable Base

Retail banking users kept 62.56% share of 2024 transactions, but under-banked citizens, often paid in cash yet smartphone-literate, represent the highest-growth audience at 13.42% CAGR through 2030. India’s interoperable UPI-ATM framework shows how national digital ID rails can unlock no-card access in remote districts. This model is increasingly cited as a blueprint for scalable, low-cost financial inclusion across emerging economies. As more developing countries adopt similar digital public infrastructure, cardless ATMs become an essential access point for populations previously served only by informal networks. 

For banks, servicing the under-banked pairs social obligation with commercial upside: low-cost digital onboarding replaces labor-intensive branch openings, while biometric checks lower fraud risk in accounts lacking lengthy credit history. Corporate treasurers adopt cardless withdrawals for ad-hoc field payments, but growth is steadier because limits and audit rules impose extra verification layers. Meanwhile, micro-entrepreneurs and gig workers—often excluded from traditional credit rails—use cardless ATM access to bridge digital earnings and real-world liquidity needs. This dual-track adoption fuels not only transaction volumes but also demand for flexible KYC and onboarding frameworks. Overall, inclusivity initiatives expand the perimeter of the cardless ATM market, attracting both mainstream and previously excluded users. 

Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase

Geography Analysis

North America contributed 33.51% of the global 2024 revenue. High smartphone saturation and aggressive retail rollouts by JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America position the United States as a proving ground for high-definition facial recognition and palm-vein scans. Security lapses, such as the Fifth Third Bank phishing event, accelerate layered defense investment, emphasizing the need for continuous anomaly monitoring. Canada mirrors U.S. adoption with Interac’s mobile-verified cash pilot, while Mexico leans on QR-code implementations to serve an under-banked population that prefers cash for small-ticket retail purchases. 

Asia-Pacific is the growth pacesetter with a forecast 14.56% CAGR to 2030. India spearheads adoption via the UPI-ATM initiative, making cardless withdrawals available at more than 15,000 machines in both urban and tier-3 cities. In China, fully mobile consumer behavior converges with sophisticated QR and NFC acceptance, generating fertile ground for biometric ATM upgrades as local handset makers embed secure elements by default. Southeast Asian fintechs partner with incumbent banks to co-brand terminals, enabling overseas workers to remit funds home and extract cash without plastic cards. 

Europe shows steady but policy-driven momentum. PSD3 enforces open-banking compliance, standardizing the API overlay across member states and facilitating multi-bank “super-ATM” rollouts tested in the United Kingdom^{[3]Hogan Lovells, “PSD3 Explained,” hoganlovells.com} . Spain will host Revolut’s extra-large touchscreen prototype in 2026, demonstrating fintech influence on form factor. Nordic markets—long pioneers in cashless retail—still keep rural ATMs operational, but dual-mode layouts combine card and cardless workflows to satisfy tourists. In the Middle East and Africa, finger-vein services launched by Arab Bank prove biometrics resonate in culturally diverse cash ecosystems, while South African retailers integrate white-label machines to soften branch closure impact.