MILLIONS FACE CASH MACHINE MISERY
Nearly 500 ATMs disappear each month
MILLIONS of Britons – many of them pensioners – could be left struggling to pay for essentials in a “cashless landscape”, a report warns today.
Cash machines vanished at a rate of 488 a month from June to December 2018, according to figures obtained by consumer
campaigner Which? And more than 250 free-to-use ATMs are also closing every month amid changes in the way the UK’s cash machine network is funded.
Meanwhile, over the year, 102 so-called “protected” machines closed in more remote areas which receive boosted subsidies aimed at keeping them open.
The closures mirror the decline in the number of bank branches with more than 3,300 in the UK closing since 2015.
Campaigners say this is leaving communities, many of them rural, struggling to access the cash they rely on.
Jan Shortt, general secretary of the National Pensioners Convention, said: “The financial sector is in danger of isolating millions of older customers with its constant closure of high street bank and building society branches, coupled with the removal of many cash machines.
“This is going to leave many pensioners needing to draw out larger amounts of cash each time because it will be less convenient to manage their affairs whenever they choose – and this, in turn, could leave them vulnerable.
“Just because we can do something doesn’t mean we necessarily should. Everyone needs to be catered for and it’s completely unacceptable for millions of older customers to effectively be told to ‘take it or leave it’.
“The financial sector needs to adapt to the customer, not the other way round.”
The Which? report calls on the Government to appoint a regulator to protect access to cash.
It says more than 25 million people across the country still need access to cash despite the increased popularity of digital and card payments which are vulnerable to IT failures.
Analysis has found that leading banks suffer at least one major security or IT glitch a week, causing chaos for customers.
Jenni Allen, managing director of Which? Money, said: “We have serious concerns that the alarming rate of ATM and bank branch closures risks leaving people facing an uphill battle to access the cash they rely on.
“Cash is also a vital back-up as fallible digital payments grow in popularity, so the Government must appoint a regulator to oversee these changes and ensure no one is excluded and left struggling to go about their daily lives.”
Some parts of the country are making the move away from cash more quickly than others. Withdrawals in London and the South-east fell by 8.5 per cent and 7.7 per cent respectively in 2017/18, but the rate of change elsewhere has been more gradual.
Northern Ireland saw a drop of just 2.1 per cent, while the Northwest, Scotland and Wales were on 3.3 per cent.
Rapid
Mike Cherry, of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: “The rapid pace of bank branch and ATM closures is hurting small businesses all over the UK.
“Millions of small firms have customers who want to pay using notes and coins. The vast majority
of shoppers either use cash frequently or want to see access to it maintained.”
Mr Cherry said bank branches and ATMs were a “natural draw” for high streets, giving shoppers a reason to visit, “meaning increased footfall and greater sales at surrounding businesses as a result”.
And he warned: “When bank branches and ATMs are lost, local growth often takes a hit.
“It’s time for a regulator to be given explicit responsibility for protecting access to notes and coins, otherwise we risk drifting into a cashless environment that we’re simply not ready for yet.” Three-quarters, 73 per cent, of the population still use cash frequently to pay for goods and services. More than three in five, 61 per cent, were negative about notes and coins ceasing to exist, with only 15 per cent supporting it.
Caroline Abrahams of Age UK said: “The drift towards a cashless society will undoubtedly cause anxiety for many older people who lack access to a bank branch, ATM or online and mobile banking.
“Banks must demonstrate an understanding of the impact of branch closures on the customers who rely on them and ensure they can continue to carry out their essential banking in an accessible and secure way.”
The UK has lost two-thirds of its branch network in the last 30 years, leaving a fifth of households travelling nearly two miles from their nearest bank.
Reversed
David Clarke, of pro-banking campaign group Positive Money, said: “This trend is set to continue unless the recent cuts to the amount banks pay to maintain the ATM network are reversed.”
“We welcome calls for a regulator so the evolution of payments can serve consumers rather than the interests of banks and card companies.”
A spokesman for cash machine network LINK said: “LINK agrees with Which? that free access to cash is vital for consumers.”
As many as 254 free-to-use cash machines a month closed between June 2018 and December 2018, with overall losses of 1,524. Counting all ATMs, both free and paidfor, 488 a month closed with overall losses of 2,962.
Over the year, 391 closed per month to a total of 4,692.
CASH machines have been disappearing from small towns and villages – and now we know how many. A report by consumer group Which? shows they vanished at a rate of 488 a month from
June to December last year, with over 250 free-to-use machines also closing monthly, adding to the pain of communities stranded after bank closures.
Card payments haven’t filled the gap and are widely distrusted. But there is a fightback. Today Which? calls upon the Government to appoint a new regulator to protect access to cash, with the slogan “Freedom to pay. Our way.”
We back the campaign, for as well as providing money for the 25 million Britons for whom cash remains a necessity, it helps protect the livelihoods of smaller communities, which still largely run on cash payments. A regulator would protect access to cash, help coin and note customers who spend £100billion each year – and boost wealth where it is most needed.