Many Guyanese may recall the October 2025 vandalism incident in New Amsterdam, Region Six where a customer encountered an ATM without cash. Some persons defended the move as the frustration is shared. You see it during the Christmas holidays or when the government cash grant hits citizen’s banks accounts: empty ATMs and long queues.
And if those instances are dismissed as one-off or simply being a once yearly occurrences, then what about the end of every month when workers receive their salaries?
Persistent complaints about cash shortages at automated teller machines (ATMs) are renewing questions about how commercial banks manage cash supplies, particularly during periods when demand is expected to increase.
In a Facebook post on Monday, Economists Richard Rambarran questioned why commercial banks continue to experience ATM cash shortages, arguing that banks should be able to estimate how quickly money is withdrawn and replenish machines before they run empty.
“Machines being down for a technical issue is one component and to an extent understandable; but how is it that commercial banks cannot adequately estimate the velocity of money (pace at which money is moving) at various ATMs and reload that machine before it is flat out of cash,” Rambarran wrote in a Facebook post.
He also questioned why more effective operational systems had not been implemented to address the problem, describing the experience of withdrawing cash from some ATMs as an ordeal.
His post attracted comments from other social media users who shared similar frustrations, including reports of having to travel between locations in search of a functioning ATM.
The complaints are not new.
In October 2024, a letter published by the Guyana Chronicle described repeated difficulties accessing cash from Republic Bank ATMs in Georgetown. The account also described long queues at a Camp Street location, with customers moving between ATMs in an attempt to withdraw money.
The issue is particularly important during the Christmas season and around salary-payment periods, when households typically face increased spending demands and more people may seek to withdraw cash.
On December 23, 2024, the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) experienced a technical outage affecting its point-of-sale (POS), ATM and GO Banking services. Customers were temporarily unable to withdraw money or complete other transactions through the affected services.
GBTI initially informed customers that its systems were down and apologised for the inconvenience. The bank subsequently announced that the services had been restored after approximately two hours.
So admitantly, as Rambarran pointed out, the incident demonstrates that technical failures can disrupt access to cash. However, it does not establish why ATMs run out of cash on other occasions, or whether the banks' cash-replenishment arrangements are adequate during periods of heavy withdrawals.
In the case of GBTI's December 2024 outage, the bank publicly acknowledged the interruption, apologised and confirmed when its services had been restored.
Separately, a November 2019 report by News Room Guyana documented customer frustration at Republic Bank following a systems upgrade. These incidents point to different potential causes of interrupted access to money, including technical problems and the availability of cash in individual machines.
But the outstanding question is whether banks have systems to monitor withdrawals at individual machines, anticipate periods of increased demand and arrange timely replenishment, as well as communicate clearly with customers when services are disrupted.
Rambarran tagged Republic Bank, Scotiabank Guyana, Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry, Citizens Bank Guyana and the Guyana Association of Bankers in his post.
Among the issues requiring clarification are how frequently ATMs are monitored, whether withdrawal patterns are used to forecast demand, and what arrangements are in place to increase cash supplies during salary periods and the Christmas shopping season.
Banks could also clarify whether customers can access information about ATM outages, cash availability and alternative withdrawal locations when a machine is unavailable.
And though more services move towards digital, access to physical cash remains important to many Guyanese consumers and businesses.
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