Multibanco goes AI

At the same time that Portugal’s ground-breaking Multibanco ATM system celebrates its 40th anniversary, the new network of cash and payment machines will now use AI.

Developed by the payments systems company SIBS, the machines will have a new AI generated voice.

The Multibanco ATMs were launched on September 2, 1985 with just nine machines in Lisbon and Porto.

A that time you could make withdrawals, consult balances and transaction movements, and change your PIN.

Today there are 13,000 machines spread all over Portugal and its islands enabling 90 different operations.

“40 years ago, the first major innovation and digitisation machine was born in Portugal. Today, the Multibanco Network continues to be present in the daily lives of the Portuguese, thanks to its innovation, convenience and simplicity.

40 years later, we continue to innovate, presenting today a new voice, generated by Artificial Intelligence, which, by pressing the 5 key, supports the Portuguese in carrying out their operations,” says Madalena Cascais Tomé, CEO of SIBS, adding that “SIBS remains committed to the development of the Multibanco Network, which continues to make the daily lives of the Portuguese easier in such a patent way, and is a unique case study in innovation on a global level”.

In 2024, more than 693 million transactions were carried out in the Multibanco ATM Network, of which the majority (+55%) were digital/non-face-to-face transactions other than withdrawals, which proves that this channel is used by the Portuguese to carry out various day-to-day financial transactions, such as payment for services, payments to the state, transfers, mobile phone charging, among others.