On average, CIB clients visit their bank 1.5 times a year, although the figure is higher for premium customers, at 2.6 visits.

OTP said its branches have personal contact with clients three times a year.

The Takarék group stands out, as customers in smaller settlements typically visit branches every month, mostly for simple transactions.

Takarék, the umbrella bank of savings co-operatives, had the biggest branch network with 1,000 units at the end of 2018.

OTP is next with 362 branches, followed by K&H with 207 and Erste with 112.

The number of bank transactions involving cash withdrawals or transfers dropped by 20% in the last four years at OTP and by 32% at CIB.

At 52 K&H branches, clients can withdraw money only from the ATM.

The number of cash withdrawals was down 10.5% year-on-year in the first quarter to 1.5 million, while cash deposits fell by 7.2% to 6 million in the same period.