This Remote Island Nation Just Got Its First ATMs, Debit Cards On The Way

The remote Pacific island nation has installed its first ATMs, marking a significant step towards financial modernisation.

The island nation with 12,000 citizens has got ATMs at key locations.

Source : Google Earth + Canva

You might need to squint at a map to find it — a slender chain of islands tucked deep in the Pacific Ocean, closer to the International Date Line than to any major city. But this week, the tiny island nation of Tuvalu made a giant leap into the digital age with something most of the world takes for granted: its very first automated teller machines, better known as ATMs. 

In a country where banking has long meant standing in line for hours — and where the bank shuts shop by 2 pm — the arrival of five gleaming machines in the village of Vaiaku on the country’s main island Funafuti marks quite a shift. For Tuvalu’s 12,000 citizens, whose financial lives have remained almost entirely cash-based, it’s now about catching up with a world where ATMs are slowly giving way to digital banking. 

It was in 1967 that the world saw the first ATM, when British bank Barclays installed one in London. Shortly after, in 1969, the United States got its first ATM as Chemical Bank brought the machine to New York. Throughout the 1970s, ATMs evolved rapidly, transforming banking the world over. In the decades that followed, ATMs revolutionised how people accessed their money and conducted basic banking transactions, even though the rise of digital banking is gradually reducing the use of cash at many places.

Tuesday’s ceremony at Tuvalu, hence, marked a historic shift toward financial modernisation, and Prime Minister Feleti Teo was present as the island nation unveiled an ATM at the headquarters of the National Bank of Tuvalu in Vaiaku, The Guardian reported. Also attending the event were members of parliament, local leaders, the governor general, and representatives from business sectors.

"Today not only marks a momentous occasion but it is also historic as the bank moves into a totally new era, not just in terms of its services but also in terms of its strategic direction,” Teo was quoted as saying.

Next On Tuvalu Banking Agenda: Debit Cards  

The rollout of ATMs and point-of-sale systems in Tuvalu, which began in 2021, came at a cost of over Australian $3 million, according to the National Bank of Tuvalu’s general manager, Siose Penitala Teo. Speaking from the bank’s main office, Teo told The Guardian: “We’ve been in an analogue space all along, these were dreams for us.” 

The bank brought in Pacific Technologies Limited from Fiji to supply and install the systems. 

The new machines are now in place at key locations around Funafuti, including the airport and various villages. In total, five ATMs have been deployed, with 30 point-of-sale terminals set to be activated across the island.

According to the Guardian report, the machines are currently functional only with prepaid cards, which users must acquire before accessing the ATMs. However, the bank is working on introducing Tuvalu-issued debit cards, with long-term plans to enable Visa debit and credit card usage for international transactions and online shopping.

Serving a base of around 6,000 customers — many of whom maintain multiple accounts — the bank expects that the move to electronic banking will reduce queues, lessen the dependence on physical cash, and enhance access to financial services, particularly in remote areas, the report said.