Belgian Woman Loses €3,600 After CASH Point Deposit Goes Wrong

A Belgian business owner spent a month fighting to recover €3,600 after a CASH Point terminal accepted her deposit but failed to credit the full amount to her account. Katrien Stes (37), co-owner of a brasserie in Loenhout, Antwerp province, was passed between the ATM operator Batopin and her bank KBC for weeks before the money was returned — only after she contacted the press.

According to Het Laatste Nieuws, Stes attempted to deposit €3,800 in cash — proceeds from a busy holiday period — at a CASH Point in Wuustwezel in early May 2026. The machine accepted the money but immediately experienced a technical fault. A ticket was issued stating the funds were safe, but it did not specify the deposited amount. Only €200 appeared in her account.

“I was passed from pillar to post,” Stes told HLN consumer expert Safia Yachou. “The machine accepted the money, but immediately after there was a technical fault. Only 200 euros was deposited. Where was the other 3,600 euros?”

A Pattern of Complaints

Stes’ case is not an isolated incident. Research by HLN reveals a recurring pattern of problems with Batopin’s CASH Point network spanning more than a year. In May 2025, Alain Plouvier, a newsagent in Vilvoorde, lost €16,500 after a Batopin ATM swallowed his cash and bank card. HLN reported that Plouvier’s money was only returned after he threatened legal action through the UNIZO business organization.

In Merchtem, the local CASH Point has been a source of ongoing frustration. VRT NWS reported in January 2026 that the municipality received dozens of complaints about swallowed bank cards and transaction times of up to seven minutes. Despite Batopin promising fixes, problems persisted. In February 2026, Alderman Nathalie Hellinckx lost €850 after a deposit at the same location, as VRT NWS documented.

The Accountability Gap

The shared ATM model creates a structural accountability gap. Batopin — a consortium of Belgium’s four largest banks (Belfius, BNP Paribas Fortis, ING, and KBC) — operates the machines but directs customers to their banks. Banks investigate but cannot directly access Batopin’s systems. Customers are caught in the middle.

Stes described being passed between Batopin and KBC for weeks. The promised resolution timeline was extended from 10 to 25 working days. In desperation, she filed a police complaint, where she was told the money was legally “in transaction.” Only after contacting HLN’s news tip line did KBC call back within one hour to say the funds had been found. The money was credited the following Monday, June 8.

“That 3,600 euros was part of the money we work with daily. It didn’t lead to a financial crisis, but it did lead to a month of uncertainty,” Stes said.

Batopin’s Response

Marie Janart, Commercial Director at Batopin, emphasized that money is never lost. “Once deposited, it’s in the machine. The money is never lost, even during a fault,” she told HLN.

According to Batopin, 99.95% of deposits proceed without issues. Only 0.05% encounter problems. For withdrawals, the error rate is 0.01%. Over two-thirds of failed deposits are caused by incorrect insertion of cash bundles — paperclips, rubber bands, coins, folded notes, or too many notes at once. Failed withdrawals often occur when customers walk away before the 30-second window expires.

However, data provided exclusively to HLN by Belfius tells a broader story. In 2025, Belfius received 2,934 reports of failed deposits at CASH Points. In the first half of 2026 alone, that number already stands at 1,504. For failed withdrawals, the figures are 2,066 in 2025 and 1,139 so far in 2026. The numbers are rising as the CASH Point network expands — from 910 locations currently to a target of 1,065 by 2027.

Growing Trust Deficit

Batopin acknowledges that 70% of cases are resolved within 10 working days, but the remaining 30% can take significantly longer — particularly when an external cash transport company must inspect the machine. The company says it is now working with banks to improve customer communication during the resolution process.

For affected customers, however, the damage to trust is already done. Ann De Petter (35) from Balen, who waited two months for Belfius to refund €250 from a failed withdrawal, told HLN: “Since then, I no longer withdraw money from such CASH points.”

As Belgium’s banking sector consolidates its ATM infrastructure under Batopin, the question remains whether the consortium can address these systemic issues before consumer confidence in the cash network erodes further. For small business owners like Katrien Stes, who rely on daily cash deposits, the stakes could not be higher.