Decline in free cash machines ‘leaving the vulnerable behind’

ONE in five free local ATMS has vanished in the last three years, making accessing cash more of a struggle, a report has said.

Northern Ireland has also lost up to 100 bank branches over the last six years, according to research from consumer organisation Which?.

It said there had been an almost 80% jump in the number of fee-charging ATMS from 212 to 377 since 2018.

Its analysis of data from the cashpoint network LINK also showed there were 1,453 freeto-use ATMS compared to 1,873 three years ago.

The consumer organisation surveyed more than 1,000 people here in December for its annual report on consumers.

It found that the coronavirus pandemic had hit people’s finances hard, with two in five consumers saying they had needed to make some kind of financial adjustment to cover essential spending.

The survey was conducted before the Northern Ireland Protocol was introduced, piling pressure on access to goods.

But even in December, 70% of those questioned were already worried about the impact of Brexit, a rate much higher than in the rest of the UK.

Which? said that the loss of free ATMS was contributing to a quarter of Northern Irish consumers struggling to access cash in the pandemic.

One in seven locals said they used cash every day, with 40% using it once a week, compared to a UK average of 34%.

Rocio Concha, director of policy and advocacy at Which?, said: “Coronavirus has accelerated the decline of the UK’S fragile cash system, and this is a major issue for people in Northern Ireland, where consumers are more likely to use cash regularly than in other parts of the UK.

“The Government must act urgently on its promise to protect cash by setting out its plans for legislation. Failure to do so risks irreparable damage to our cash network, which could see some of the most vulnerable people in society left behind.”

Which? said that by the end of this year, branch closures would accelerate to 99 since 2015 after Bank of Ireland announced plans to shut 15 of its 28 premises.

Branch numbers across all banks will fall from 261 to 162, meaning two in five branches will have gone.

Bank of Ireland announced branch closures north and south at the start of this month, pulling down the shutters on 100 in total across the island.

Research by Belfast Telegraph this month found that more than half of all the branches operated by banks in Northern Ireland had closed in the last decade. There were 236 in 2011.

Ulster Bank had 90 branches 10 years ago and now has 44, Danske Bank has dropped from 72 to 42 and AIB has shuttered half its outlets, from 30 to 15.

Which? also found that more than a fifth (22%) of Northern Irish consumers had been blocked from paying with cash in the three months up to December.

It said that figure was “highly concerning given the significant numbers of people that still need cash to pay for essential goods and services, particularly during tough coronavirus measures”.

Which? said that it had campaigned extensively for cash to be protected for as long as it is needed and said it had welcomed the Government’s Budget commitment that it would legislate to do so. However progress since then has been slow, with legislation now required to protect the use of cash.