Fears of cashless society grow as seven in 10 ATMs may start charging

Fears of cashless society grow as seven in 10 ATMs could start charging… or face the axe

• More than 37,000 cash machines at risk of being removed or imposing charges
• Interchange fee paid by banks to operators is not increasing in line with inflation
• Machine operator Notemachine said 2,100 of its ATMs might become pay-to-use 
• Number of free cash machines already fallen by more than 12,000 since 2019

As many as seven in ten cash machines could be removed or impose charges.

One of the UK’s biggest independent machine operators, Notemachine, warned cuts in the fees it receives from banks could leave firms with no other option. It means more than 37,000 free ATMs are at risk.

It comes after Link, which runs the UK cash machine network, told operators the interchange fee, paid to them by banks when their customers use a machine, would not increase despite rises in running costs.

Operators say a failure to raise it in line with interest rates and other costs means an effective cut in income. Typically, a bank pays the operator a 26.5p fee per use, but 29.3p for machines with protected status, where it is seen as essential.

More than 37,000 ATMs are at risk as machine operators warn cuts in the fees they receive from banks could leave firms with no option but to remove them or impose charges

Notemachine said unless the fee is raised, more than 2,100 machines on its network are at risk of becoming pay-to-use. 

Caroline Abrahams, of charity Age UK, told The Sunday Telegraph: ‘For many older people, cash makes day-to-day transactions much easier and widespread availability is essential.’

A Link spokesman said its task is to ensure every high street with five or more shops has free access to cash.

Philip Bowcock of Notemachine said: ‘The increase in the Bank Rate and the failure to increase funding in line with it has heaped even further pressure on operators, meaning this funding cut is far greater than 10 per cent in real terms – amounting to a further funding cut by stealth.’

Charity Director for Age UK Caroline Abrahams (pictured) said widespread availability of ATMs is essential for older people who still rely on cash

The machines most under threat are the tens of thousands that operate through corner shops.

The only machines likely to survive were those attached to banks, at supermarkets or if they have ‘protected status’, where operators receive higher fees to maintain what is seen as an essential service.

The number of free to use cash machines has already fallen by more than 12,000 since 2019 to around 40,400 today.

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