How to use a CASH point

Bancontact CASH points do not charge any fees to users. Any transaction fees are set out in your bank’s general terms and conditions of sale, as usual. So there are no changes there if you use a Bancontact CASH point.

If your card is swallowed by a CASH point, it will be destroyed for security reasons. However, we would recommend that you still have it blocked via the “Card Stop” service by calling the number 078 170 170 (open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day)*. Then contact your bank, to obtain a new card.

* for Belgian cards only; for foreign cards, please contact your bank immediately. 

If the machine does not dispense the amount you requested, please contact your bank, which will carry out the necessary checks.

Although this is very rare, it can happen that the machine gets stuck during a cash deposit. This may happen, for example, in the event of the banknotes being crumpled or torn, if there is a foreign body contained in the bundle of notes or suspicious notes, in case of an incorrect action while inserting the notes or following a problem with the machine. If this type of blockage occurs, only your bank is able to proceed with the checks required to credit your account. Only contacting your bank will enable this type of situation to be resolved.

If your account is not credited with the amount you have deposited via a Bancontact CASH point, only your bank, is able to proceed with the necessary checks. Please contact your bank to resolve this type of situation.

All Bancontact CASH points are constructed in accordance with very high security and safety standards.

Every precaution has been put in place to enable you to withdraw and deposit cash with total peace of mind. Mirrors positioned above the screen enable the user to see what is going on behind him or her.

If a problem occurs when withdrawing money, a help desk is available via a telephone number displayed close to the CASH point, while details of the “Card Stop” procedure enabling you to block your card are also prominently displayed.

All Bancontact CASH points have camera surveillance from several angles operating 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

In addition, those CASH points offering the cash deposit function are located in dedicated interior spaces. These ATMs feature an alarm with a siren that is triggered if something suspicious happens.

To improve privacy at our locations that offer a deposit function, privacy screens have been installed between the machines to reduce lateral visibility. Distancing lines have been placed on the ground in front of the ATMs.

Finally, we have also put stickers on the windows of premises where there’s a need to reduce visibility on the cash dispensers from the outside.

Bancontact CASH points dispense €20 and €50 notes. Notes smaller than €20 and €100 are also available from some ATMs. You will shortly be able to use the cash.be website to find out which notes are available at each location.

When you immediately select a suggested amount from the main menu, the ATM will decide which notes you receive based on availability. 

If you wish to select your own notes, make sure to select 'Other amount' from the main menu. This is the only way to decide which notes you will receive.  

We are monitoring the way our CASH points are used, as well as taking account of feedback from users. At locations where there are multiple ATMs and which have a central position, we are now making a wider range of notes available.

For technical reasons, a limit on the number of banknotes per transaction is set for each CASH point. However, it is still possible to keep adding more notes during the same transaction, without having to start the process again. For this, just choose the “deposit more” button.

When making a withdrawal, a first screen invites you to select a predefined amount in the left-hand column. But you can also opt to click on the yellow ‘Withdrawal’ button, in which case you will be taken to a second screen displaying other predefined amounts. When that happens, you can still decide not to select one of these amounts and to click on ‘Other amount’. The screen will then enable you to select the amount you want, as well as the notes.

When depositing cash, all types of € banknotes are accepted.

Any withdrawal or deposit of cash via a Bancontact CASH point is always taken from or put into the account linked directly with the bank card being used to make the transaction. 

To deposit money into a different account, you must either use the card linked directly to that account (or order one from the bank in question if you do not already have one), or make a transfer to that other account once the deposit has been made. 

For accounting reasons, you must sometimes add a message when making a deposit. You can do this while making your transaction. When the screen displays the message “Notes deposited: Summary”, simply click on “Notes” and a virtual keyboard will appear that will enable you to compose your message. Structured messages are possible since June 2023. 

Bancontact CASH points enable you to withdraw money and change the PIN on your bank card, regardless of which bank you are a customer with. In addition, if you are a customer of Belfius, BNP Paribas Fortis, ING and/or CBC/KBC, you can also view your account balance and deposit money at CASH points that offer this function (this will be 50% of Bancontact CASH points by the end of 2025), and to update the details linked to your bank account via your ID card.

“Non-cash” functions, such as transfers or printing out statements can be carried out using numerous other channels. These transactions take time to do and if they were carried out at ATMs, they would cause long queues. That is why you will not find these functions on our Bancontact CASH points. 

Cleaning teams come to clean each CASH point location on a regular basis. Cleaning frequency is increased at peak times and in high-traffic locations. CASH point locations are also equipped with doormats. 

We also invite all of our users to help us keep our CASH point locations clean – for example by asking not to simply throw your transaction receipt down on the ground after using the ATM. With this in mind, the screens of our CASH points were recently modified to avoid any risk of receipts being printed out for no purpose or by mistake.

Everything has been put in place to ensure that our Bancontact CASH points are as accessible as possible for users with reduced mobility. For each CASH point location, our locator cash.be provides an indication regarding the CASH point’s accessibility for people in wheelchairs, with walkers or using other aids. 

The keypad at each CASH point is always accessible from a wheelchair. 

Besides, all CASH points are accessible for users who are blind or who have poor vision. This is made possible by an audio guidance system and by braille writing on the various components of the ATMs.

Withdrawals of cash in Belgium have fallen by 50% over the past 10 years. This means it is only logical that the number of ATMs should have decreased as well. While we may be moving towards a society in which there is less cash, it will certainly not be one where there is no cash at all. So our aim is to preserve access to cash – and even make it better – based on today’s needs. 

That’s why the new Bancontact CASH points are located not necessarily where the banks currently have or used to have their branches, but where you really need the ATMs to be: in shopping centres, in areas where there are large numbers of cafés and restaurants, close to where markets are held, or on the way to work, entertainment and shopping, etc. 

Putting the network together is a lengthy and gradual process. But when it is finished, there will be 2510 new ATMs in Belgium in locations that are key to our everyday lives.

Each CASH point is quadrilingual. As long as no bank card is inserted, the screen will alternately communicate messages in the four languages: English, Dutch, French and German. Once the card has been inserted, the device will recognise the language. If no language is associated with the card, the customer will be able to choose between the four listed languages. 

At locations, our signage is set up in the language of the region. In tourist regions and major cities, we also add other languages to help all users.

If you want to open an account with the bank, you first need to identify yourself. By law, these details must always be kept up to date. This is why the bank will occasionally ask you to update your identity details. If the deadline given for updating your details has expired, you will not be able to carry out any further transactions with your bank card at an ATM until your details have been updated. You will only be able to release your account again by sharing the details contained on your electronic identity card with the bank. 

Yes, you can update your identity details at the ATM of a CASH-point. Until recently, you could only do this at an ATM belonging to your own bank. However, from now on it will also be possible to update your identity details for your bank using an ATM at one of the many Bancontact CASH points. This will make things easier for you, especially because there will very likely be a CASH point close to where you are. Please note that, at the moment, this is only possible for customers of KBC/CBC/KBC Brussels, Belfius, BNPPF and Fintro. ING will follow after the summer of 2024. And if you are a customer at another bank, you can only update your details from an ATM belonging to that particular bank.

To update your identity details for a bank, you need to follow these steps:

• Insert your bank card. Select “Update my details” or follow the instructions on the screen. 
• Enter the 4-digit PIN code for your card. The ATM will now eject your bank card. 
• Take your bank card out of the slot and then insert your electronic identity card into the same slot. 
• Agree with our “Privacy Notice”.
• Your eID details will now be updated. This will take a little time, so please wait until your electronic identity card is ejected from the slot. There’s no need to push any other buttons to get your card back.

Don’t worry, it’s perfectly safe and secure to update your identity details for your bank at the ATM of a Bancontact CASH point. The data is not saved by the ATM at the CASH-point. Nor are the details saved by Batopin, the operator of the ATMs. This means your data will only reach the bank whose card you have just inserted and not any other banks.

Very occasionally, a technical error may cause your card to be swallowed while your electronic identity card data is being scanned by an ATM. If this happens, your card will be removed from the ATM by our technical services and taken as soon as possible to the nearest open police station. We recommend that you also contact the nearest police station yourself about your card. They will notify you as soon as the card has been brought in.

An alternative procedure is to contact DocStop and follow the procedure for a lost identity card. However, you need to know that this procedure involves a cost and if you decide to go through DocStop, be aware that your card will be permanently blocked and so will become unusable.

No, when you update your identity details for the bank using an ATM, you will only have to enter the PIN code for your bank card. The PIN for your electronic identity card will not be requested.

Yes, it is possible to update your underage children’s identity details for the bank from an ATM. The instructions are the same as in the standard procedure. To do this, see the procedure stated in the answer to the question “How do I use an ATM to update my identity details for the bank?”. The only difference with the standard procedure is that you enter your underage child’s electronic identity card instead of your own.