International Comparisons of Bank Branches – An Update 5. Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale (EFTPOS) Terminals

As in the case of ATMs, the number of EFTPOS terminals per capita has grown in all major countries, but at more spectacular rates (Graph 5).

In Australia, the number of EFTPOS terminals per million inhabitants rose from 1,497 in 1992 to 6,373 in 1996. This growth, however, was surpassed by a number of other countries, many of which started later in spreading this technology. In the United States, Netherlands and Canada, for example, the number of EFTPOS terminals per million inhabitants rose eight-fold over this four year period. This left Australia in the middle of the group in terms of EFTPOS penetration, after being third in the late 1980s.