Does anybody have any knowledge about the future of ATMs in France?

A lot of people use the tap-function on their credit cards for daily purchases nowadays in France. My husband pays for even our baguettes with his card. Sometimes the vendors ask me to use my card rather than scrounge for coins because it's easier and faster for them. The tap card has made a big difference in card use in daily life. I do see people using cash sometimes, particularly young people who don't have their have own credit cards yet. You will probably have to look just a tiny bit harder for ATMs in the future.

While France isn't quite as cashless as some other European countries (e.g. Sweden), it is getting there. Purchasing transportation tickets can be difficult without a card in some places, for example (not all stops have machines that take banknotes).
This said, I haven't noticed any reduction in the # of ATMs but then, I live in a big city.

By the way, exchange rates are not set by the bank but by the card network (Visa, Mastercard, etc.). ATM fees can differ, but no-fee cards are available these days. A no-fee card with contactless payment is a good thing to have nowadays!

France is definitely heading towards tap to pay, as was the UK on my recent visit. It's just faster and easier and everyone has pretty much changed over to that.

If you prefer cash, just take out fewer larger withdrawals. As some on the forum have noted, if you're paying cash for lodging there's a good chance someone is not reporting that as income FWIW.

I haven't seen any great reduction over the past 14 years I've been living here. Our village lost one of its three about seven years ago when one of the banks closed, but how many ATMs does a village of 1000 people need (especially when you consider that a third of those people are in the nursing home).

Otherwise it's business as normal... Small places are losing shops and schools are losing classes, but I think that's normal around the world.

Europe is becoming more and more cashless all the time. The further north you are, the less cash is used. Iceland and Scandinavia are almost entirely cashless now - some places won't even accept it. I've noticed that this is moving south - France runs on tap cards and Google/Apple Pay in most establishments, even in small towns and villages. Many stands in outdoor markets also are cashless but still accept cash readily. That said, most places in France will still take cash and ATMs are everywhere I've been, even in fairly out of the way places. The locals still rely on cash for many things. There are still ATMs in Scandinavia but there are far fewer of them than there once were. I don't think France is quite ready for cashless yet and when I was there for many weeks last summer, all over the country, I didn't have problems getting cash. I don't think it will happen any time in the very near future. I do think though, that a largely cashless Europe is coming in the next 10-15 years if Scandinavia is any indication.

It depends how good the mobile signal is. I've been placed where it's cash only because coverage is so poor.

It depends how good the mobile signal is. I've been placed where it's cash only because coverage is so poor.

Apple Pay on a phone does not require cellular connection, data, or wi-fi. I assume tap to pay is the same...

“Apple Pay on a phone does not require cellular connection, data, or wi-fi. I assume tap to pay is the same...”

Your Apple Pay may not need cellular connection or wifi, but the payment terminal of the merchant you wish to buy something from definitely needs an internet connection in order to be able to process your payment.

Your Apple Pay may not need cellular connection or wifi, but the payment terminal of the merchant you wish to buy something from definitely needs an internet connection in order to be able to process your payment.

There are NFC card readers available for vendors who do not have a reliable internet connection at their place of business. The vendor will have to submit those payments for processing once they have an internet connection, but the point is that it is possible for a vendor with the proper chip reader to accept credit card / tap to pay payments "offline" without an internet connection at the point of sale.

Regardless, anyone who travels should carry some local currency, just in case they encounter a retailer or vendor who does not accept any NFC chip "tap to pay" payments or Apple Pay or whatever payment the customer has on their phone. I carry cash at home, and also when I travel.

And tying this idea of always having some local currency in your pocket to the OP question about disappearing ATMs in France or other countries, that is the trend not only abroad but here in the US. We have an upcoming trip to France, and we had no euros on hand from our last trip in 2019, so we bought some euros through our bank (Bank of America) that offers a very reasonable exchange rate, and the euros were delivered to our home the next day via FedEx for no additional charge. How much you purchase in advance is up to you, but I want enough on hand to pay for a taxi, or grab a bite to eat, to avoid hunting for and using an ATM at the airport, and not until I am less jet lagged the following day or so to find an ATM for any additional cash I want to have on hand.

So it must not cost merchants more to accept credit payments instead of cash like it does in the states? Isn’t it a 3% fee here?

So it must not cost merchants more to accept credit payments instead of cash like it does in the states? Isn’t it a 3% fee here?

I am certain that merchants pay fees for accepting CC payments there as they do here (everywhere, I assume). I don't know the fee amount, depends on government regulations, etc.

the merchant fees are much much lower this side of the Atlantic. They aren't paying for "points" etc.

There's an article in today's (March 4-5 2023 Wall Street Journal) about "ATMs Get Scarcer as Consumers Shun Cash". It's about the decline in use of ATMs in the US and Europe.soon. I cant link to it, but it will likely be searchable. Number of machines in the US have dropped from around 470K to 450K since pandemic. It says cash accounts for 14% of transactions (in the US?) down from 42% pre-pandemic. So its not unique to France.