Hundreds of Postamat branches in Southern Italy remain switched off at night to avoid thefts. A temporary measure that penalizes citizens and small municipalities
It’s evening and it’s dark, you need cash for some unexpected expense, for a medicine to buy or for a POS that doesn’t work at the restaurant or in a taxi you just took. Maybe you are in a tourist location, where it is already difficult to find a bank branch. You arrive at the Postamat, the Italian Post Office’s ATM, insert your card, but nothing happens. The screen is black and the door is off. It is not a fault, much less any scheduled maintenance, but it is a precise choice. From 7pm to 8.30am, hundreds of Postamat branches in Southern Italy no longer work, because Poste Italiane has decided to turn them off due to too many theft attempts. It is a solution that would also have its own logic: thieves act at night under cover of darkness.
The night closure concerns more 250 branches distributed in the southern regions, with the Puglia which saw 145 closed. And then about forty in Basilicata and Campania. The province of Lecce is the most affected by the night-time closures, with around sixty towns affected out of almost one hundred in total.
Mayors’ protests
The small municipalities welcomed the measure with anger and protests: the mayors sent formal letters of complaint to the Italian Post Office, considering the night closure unfair and penalizing. In many cases, in fact, the Postamat is the only counter available within tens of kilometers and there are no alternatives.
The trade unions are also on a war footing and report that it is mainly those who are being hit weaker sections of the population: the elderly with pensions, workers with night shifts and families living in the most isolated areas.
On the other hand, Poste Italiane is a public company controlled by the Ministry of Economy and the feeling going around the Municipalities is that of a surrender of the State in the face of theft.
The security measures
Poste Italiane defines the provision temporary and announces investments in security with new video surveillance systems, strengthening of branches and enhanced alarms. It is also expected emptying of safes at nightbut the attacks on ATMs continue.
In the municipality of Scampitella, in Campania, they blew up the Postamat, taking away all the cash. The police started investigations, but the damage was already done. The counters therefore remain turned off and no one knows how long this temporary period will last.
Those who live in those territories must adapt: find a bank branch further away, take refuge in digital solutions or else withdraw during the day.
Because to withdraw your cash in the South, you have to have the right times.
