Banking services can now be delivered with technology (FinTech) and many banks are downsizing their physical operations. Bank customers are also relying less on physical locations because of FinTech-enabled banking. Is geography indeed now less important for banks? Using quasi-exogenous closures of ATMs in a densely populated city, we examine how changes in ATM access affects FinTech adoption. We find that after closures, affected customers' travel distance to ATMs increases. This induces them to increase their usage of the bank's digital platform. Further, using closures as an instrument for FinTech adoption, we find that adopters become less likely to incur minimum-balance penalties. Our results show that very slight frictions to geography can have a significant impact on the rate of FinTech adoption andfinancial inclusion.

Keywords: FinTech; Geography; Banking; Financial Inclusion; Household Finance 

JEL Classification Codes: D12, D14, G21, G40, O33​