B of A Removes Dozens of ATMs from Grocery Stores

Bank of America is eliminating dozens of ATMs in two grocery store chains throughout the Southeast as it continues to scale back its operations.

The Charlotte company has been removing ATMs from Harris Teeter Supermarkets and Bi-Lo stores in June and July, Reuters reported July 30. Overall it will remove 36 machines from Harris Teeter locations and 25 from Bi-Lo stores.

Some of the grocery store ATMs did not allow deposits and were not accessible 24 hours a day. Bank of America is looking to focus on ATMs that are full service with 24-hour access and plans to add more in the future, Tara Burke, a bank spokeswoman, said, according to Reuters.

PNC Financial Services Group is picking up some of the locations that Bank of America has left with plans to add almost 200 ATMs to Harris Teeter stores across the Southeast. The Pittsburgh company is working with Cardtronics, which owns and manages NCR machines under a contract signed with Harris Teeter last fall.

Bank of America has been working to increase capital levels and streamline its operations by selling off several of its business units or stakes in other companies. It also has plans to reduce its headcount and close hundreds of branches over the next several years.

As of June 30, Bank of America’s ATM count had dropped 9%, to 16,220, from a year earlier. The bank said last week that it had removed its ATMs from Valero Energy convenience stores and Simon Property Group mall locations.