Panayia, Cyprus. A new ATM has been installed in the Paphos district village of Panayia, Diko MP Chrysanthos Savvides said on Thursday. Savvides said the installation fulfilled a request by residents and aimed to enhance local services.
Announcement and acknowledgements
Savvides said the ATM’s installation was the implementation of a commitment and described it as meeting an important request by the village’s residents. He thanked the village council and mountain commissioner Charalambos Christofinas for their support and contribution to the project.
Broader concerns over banking access
The installation follows longstanding concerns raised by MPs about a lack of banking facilities, particularly ATMs, in rural and mountainous areas of Cyprus, amid a decline in the number of operational ATMs in recent years.
Last year, House commerce committee chairman and Disy MP Kyriacos Hadjiyiannis said people had to travel from village to village to find an ATM and that those they found were often out of order. At the same committee session, MP Michalis Yiakoumi said his great uncle died in a traffic accident while riding his motorcycle around the Famagusta district searching for an ATM.
Hadjiyiannis has previously said Cyprus’ banks were not interested in the shortage of ATMs in rural areas and described them as lacking social responsibility, adding that elderly people should be able to access money within a reasonable distance.
How has access to ATMs and banking services in your area changed in recent years?
