ATM giant to charge £1 fee for withdrawal

THOUSANDS of free cash machines will start charging customers £1 to access their own money within weeks, it has emerged.

One of the UK’S biggest ATM operators, Notemachine, is preparing to apply the fee to up to 5,000 of the 10,000 cash machines it runs.

Chief executive Peter Mcnamara told The Daily Telegraph it could begin charging for cash “within weeks” unless changes to the fees it receives are reversed.

Providers have been under pressure since Link, the UK’S biggest cashpoint network, announced the fee paid to operators, known as the interchange rate, will be reduced from 25p to 20p per withdrawal.

Mr Mcnamara said a final decision had yet to be made but unless Link reverses its plan his firm would have to apply extra charges to some machines, mostly those that process fewer than 120 transactions a day.

“The world has to be aware that the long-standing free access to cash might be about to change very radically,” he added.

He said there was “an opportunity to step back from the brink” but that without a change to Link’s plans his firm was “at risk”.

Ron Delnevo, of the ATM Industry Association, said he feared that corner shops could lose trade if the UK became a cashless society.

“It’s not about cash being unpopular,” he added. “Many people still love cash, but people are being driven away from it by the lack of ATMS and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

A spokesman for Link said: “Free access to cash is vital for consumers and the UK enjoys extensive coverage that Link is committed to protecting.”