German interbank network
CashPool is a cooperation of a multitude of smaller or virtual German private banks, in which they mutually waive ATM usage fees for their customers. It is not an interbank network but uses the pre-existing German ATM or Maestro/Cirrus networks. With more than 3200 ATMs, the cooperating banks' ATM networks form the smallest ATM group in Germany.
The cooperation was founded in 2000. Its primary competitor in Germany is Cash Group.
Background.
Most banks in Germany, while connected through the German ATM network, charge ATM usage fees for customers of other banks.
In 1998, the six largest German private banks established Cash Group, mutually waiving these fees within the Group.
After the formation, other private banks tried to join Cash Group but were not accepted into the Group. Being smaller than the six large private banks, they operated fewer ATMs and thus would have unilaterally benefited from the use of the other bank's larger networks.
As a consequence, several of these smaller banks founded CashPool and also mutually waived ATM usage fees within the group. For comparison, the big banks CashGroup network has 9,000 ATMs, the co-operative banks (as far as being members of the Bankcard-Servicenetz) share 18,600 ATMs and the saving banks have list of 25,700 ATMs for their SparkassenCard.
The private banks (but not the savings banks and cooperative banks) had undertaken to charge a maximum of EUR 1.95 for payments to third-party customers from January 2011. In August 2015, Deutsche Bank, Postbank and Commerzbank terminated the voluntary commitment. The banks involved in Cashpool (listed below) currently have around 2,800 ATMs in Germany, of which around 160 locations are not publicly accessible because they are located on company premises or in a company building. There is no nationwide supply or even distribution. So there are in Nuremberg, for example, there are around 20 ATMs (¾ of which are publicly accessible and also unevenly distributed within the city area), while the nearest ATM in the Sylt holiday region is only about 70 km away in Flensburg.
References.
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