ATMs are not working even in branches with generators: Ukrainians complain that they cannot withdraw cash or make purchases

Residents of Kyiv are increasingly complaining about problems with card payments in the capital. During power outages, mobile communication with the internet disappears almost immediately, and POS terminals at store checkouts cannot process payments with bank cards. The only exception is large supermarkets connected to stationary internet networks, although they also experience interruptions.

As a result, people are being urged to carry more cash with them to be able to pay for purchases. Bankers openly discuss this issue, adding that they do not provide connectivity for payment terminals, and that this is the responsibility of mobile operators and merchants.

However, this time there is also a problem with a purely banking function. The population, heeding the advice of financiers regarding cash, has started withdrawing more cash from ATMs—the demand for paper hryvnias has increased. Yet, banks have not strengthened their cash-in-transit services or started refilling ATMs more frequently. As a result, many ATMs are empty. Some ATM owners simply turn off the machines during such times, while others keep them on, displaying addresses of branches with alternative power sources where people can try to withdraw banknotes to pay for goods and services.

In open financial chats, “Privat” customers mention another problem—they cannot run around branches during working hours searching for places with power, and during non-working hours, they cannot withdraw cash because standalone ATMs outside branches are not equipped with alternative power sources and do not operate during power outages. For instance, in Kyiv yesterday, outages lasted 6.5-7 hours. Consequently, people are left without cash and cannot pay for their purchases when merchants do not accept bank cards due to the lack of mobile communication and internet.

“The fact that the bank has not made ATMs operational during power outages in a year and a half is a fiasco. Partially, generators are available at some duty branches, but these branches operate on a five-day schedule, like the majority of the population. So, during power outages, it’s impossible to withdraw money because ATMs are located in buildings without power. Checking the schedule to see if there is power in the building with the ATM—well, sorry, but what kind of service and customer support is that? In a critical situation, if there is no power, you are left without your own money,” notes Anna, a “Privatbank” customer, in an open complaint.

Interestingly, in its official response regarding this issue, the state bank does not promise to resolve the problem of alternative power supply for ATMs. Instead, it tries to shift the burden onto retail chains, suggesting that people withdraw cash in large retail networks like Novus, “Silpo,” ATB, Varus, and others. There, you need to make any minimal purchase to open a receipt, request an amount from the cashier, and enter your card’s PIN code, after which you can receive up to 6,000 hryvnias.

“As an alternative cash withdrawal option during power outages, we recommend using our cool service ‘Cash at the Checkout.’ This allows you to withdraw cash at the checkout (through the terminal) of a retail outlet after making a purchase. The service operates in retail chains additionally equipped with alternative power sources,” says the official comment from “Privatbank.”

However, the bank does not take into account the shortage of cash with merchants, especially in the morning before many customers have been served. When people enter large supermarkets that accept bank cards, they try to save the now-scarce cash and make non-cash payments. As a result, store cash registers are often empty. “Strana” verified this from their own experience. At “Silpo,” they were refused cash withdrawal at the checkout due to a lack of cash, and at Novus, for the same reason, they could only withdraw one thousand hryvnias.