High streets to lose one in five cash points

ONE in five cash points will disappear from Britain’s high streets in four years, the ATM industry body has said.

The “catastrophic” fall in cash points will result from the UK’S biggest ATM network imposing drastic cuts to the fees that providers can charge banks when their customers withdraw cash.

Link has decided that fees should be cut by 20 per cent over the next four years, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.

It means millions of people, particularly those living in rural areas, could lose the ability to access bank notes and coins on a day-to-day basis, making them more reliant on “cashless” payments such as bank cards, smartphones and online transactions.

The move will lead to some 10,000 free cash points closing over the period, according to Ron Delnevo, chief executive of the ATM Industry Association. He said: “This will be catastrophic for consumers. But cash point providers’ revenue will go down to the point where they will struggle to break even. It will be worse in rural areas. It’s very serious.”

One provider said the 5 per cent a year reduction in fees would force it to close all its free cash points by the end of the four-year transition period.

At present there are around 55,000 free cash points in the UK.

♦ A government crackdown on credit card charges has backfired after HMRC said it would stop accepting credit cards from next year.

From January “rip off ” fees charged by companies and government bodies when they pay by credit card will be completely banned in the UK.

The move was designed to help consumers by letting them pay by credit card free of charge but HMRC has said the move will force it to stop accepting credit cards altogether. Last night consumer groups said the move by HMRC was “consumer unfriendly”.