BUDAPEST, March 25 (Xinhua) -- Hungary has enacted an emergency decree requiring banks to keep all ATMs operational and continue providing cash withdrawal services at branch locations.

The measure aims "to prevent the misguided Brussels sanctions," imposed due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, from disrupting the population's access to cash, according to the decree. It was published late Monday in the official Hungarian Gazette and took effect Tuesday.

The decree, signed by Prime Minister Viktor Orban, said that keeping cash availability is a national priority, stressing that "ensuring access to cash is of key importance in rural areas."

Under the regulation, financial institutions are prohibited from dismantling existing ATM infrastructure or terminating in-branch cash withdrawal services during a declared state of emergency.

Banks that fail to comply may face fines ranging from 2 million to 200 million forints (5,440 to 544,000 U.S. dollars). The measure is a part of a broader government effort announced last week to install ATMs in all 3,155 Hungarian municipalities.

Currently, only about one-third of them have such machines. According to estimates published by leading local business portal Portfolio, achieving this goal could require the deployment of over 2,000 new ATMs at a projected cost of around 12 billion forints. (1 Hungarian forint = 0.0027 U.S. dollar) Enditem

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