The Stadtsparkasse Munich will soon close 46 of its 47 branches – at least at night. In the future, the vestibules will be locked between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. so that money can no longer be withdrawn from the ATMs inside the bank during this period. The night-time closure also affects an undisclosed number of self-service foyers in which there is no counter service. The company announced this on Friday. It pointed out that on average only three percent of all cash withdrawals or deposits are made at night anyway.
37 vestibules of branches or self-service foyers will be closed at night from next Monday; the automatic locking mechanisms should be installed at the remaining locations by the end of November. Only in the headquarters of the Stadtsparkasse in the valley will the foyer remain open at all times, a spokeswoman said. The bank reassures that anyone who is in an anteroom while it is being automatically locked does not need to worry about being locked in: you can leave the rooms from the inside out at any time.
Customers who really want to withdraw cash at night will of course still be able to do so in the future, but only in certain places: namely wherever ATMs are free-standing or installed facing the street. In addition to the main office in the valley, this affects a total of 32 locations in the city. Customers who do not have the opportunity to view the overview online on the Stadtsparkasse homepage can also find out about the nearest option to withdraw money in the branches, the spokeswoman assured.
According to the bank, the reason for the measure are recommendations from the Federal Ministry of the Interior and the Bavarian Savings Bank Association, which are responding to the increasing number of cases of ATMs being blown up by criminal gangs. The explosions, which were usually carried out at night, caused extensive damage to property in and around the buildings and also endangered human lives. In this respect, the nightly closures are intended as preventative measures “to protect residents and customers”. Other financial institutions in the city have been completely closing their rooms overnight for some time now, and the Stadtsparkasse is basically just following suit.
So far, ATMs have been blown up mainly in rural areas; there have been no cases in the city of Munich. Only in the district did the local police headquarters register two recent crimes: in April 2021 in Taufkirchen and in October a year ago in Unterhaching.
The nightly closures also affect homeless people who use the vestibules as a place to sleep, especially in autumn and winter. They are now locked out too. The Stadtsparkasse has announced that it will financially support organizations that offer help to homeless people.