Appeal for review of free ATM network

An urgent review of the free-to-use ATM network is needed to make sure people are not left struggling to access cash, according to consumer campaigners.

Consumer group Which? said it was concerned that a row over the funding of the network could lead to widespread closures of cash machines.

It has written to the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), asking it to step in and conduct an urgent market review.

Thepsrshouldfullyevaluate the potential impact on consumers – millions of whom rely on the freeto-use network of ATMS to access cash – it said.

Meanwhile, the PSR has said it is monitoring the situation closely and it will take regulatory action as necessary if it considers that any decision made by ATM network Link is not in the interests of consumers.

Which?saidtheconcerns about the future of freeto-use ATM access come alongside bank branch closures – raising issues around consumers’ ability to have easy access to their money free of charge.

The consumer group said that last year 2.7 million people in the UK were reliant almost entirely on cash. The call by Which? follows a consultation, recently launched by Link, into the interchange fees paid by card issuers such as banks and building societies to ATM operators.