ATMs cull ‘will cut off 200 towns’

TWO hundred towns and villages could be cut off from cash machines if banks get their way on ATM charges, experts warn.

Consumer group Which? said at least 200 isolated areas already suffering from a lack of cash machines will be hit hard if more are shut down.

Big banks are demanding a cut to the fees they pay when one of their customers withdraws money from a machine owned by an independent operator.

It is feared that swathes of ATMs will become unprofitable and close if the banks win the battle over fees.

This could completely cut off rural neighbourhoods which have already lost all their bank branches when high street lenders abandoned them.

Which? found that 123 postcode districts with 111,000 residents do not have an ATM at all. Another 116 districts have just one machine – and in 37 of these, the provider charges a fee.

The most populous area without anywhere to get cash was the PE32 postcode in Norfolk – covering villages near King’s Lynn including Narborough and Gayton – with 15,300 occupants. Gareth Shaw of Which? said: ‘Reducing the free-to-use ATM network would hit consumers who rely on access to cash machines hard.

‘These proposals could place a strain on communities across the UK that are already struggling to access the cash they need following mass bank closures.

‘The financial regulator must intervene to avoid this situation getting worse.’

Mike Cherry, chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: ‘This new research shows that the UK’s cash machine network is already failing small businesses – particularly in rural areas and tourist hotspots where cash flow is absolutely vital to local growth.

‘If funding for cashpoint providers is cut, things could rapidly go from bad to worse. As is so often the case, it will be rural small businesses that are hit hardest by inadequate investment.’