ATM closures leave Scots cut off from cash

VILLAGES and towns across Scotland could be cut off from accessing cash as one in five free ATMs disappears within the next year.

Industry chiefs have issued a stark warning over the growing rate of free-to-use cash machine closures north of the Border.

They claim that within the next 12 months, a fifth of ATMs will either close or be subject to fees.

The ATM Industry Association has claimed a rise in closures has followed a cut in the fee that banks pay cash machine operators every time a withdrawal is made.

LINK, which oversees the largest cash machine network in the UK, introduced the cut and has suggested that the charge could be slashed further in the coming years.

There are more than 6,000 cash machines throughout Scotland, with a closure rate of 32 a month.

ATM Industry Association executive director for Europe Ron Delnevo told The Herald yesterday that things are ‘going to get worse’ as he predicted the disappearance of free-to-use ATMs across Scotland.

He said: ‘Independent ATM operators are running the last ATM, or last one or two ATMs, in some towns in Scotland. With LINK’s cuts in fees making these ATMs uneconomic to operate on a free-to-use basis, many will be switching to charging this year, leaving many of Scotland’s villages without free access to cash.

‘The situation is bad and it is going to get worse.’

Mr Delnevo warned: ‘People are going to be forced to use cards increasingly because there is no cash available.’

The East Lothian town of Gullane is one of the areas in Scotland affected by closures. Residents cannot access free cash between 10pm and 7pm as a result of the removal of free ATMs.

One ATM accessible 24 hours a day now charges 95p for withdrawals, while the only free-to-use ATM is inside a supermarket that closes during the night.

Scottish Labour MP Ged Killen said: ‘The figures paint a bleak future for the operation of ATMs in Scotland.

‘The conversion of ATMs to fee-charging machines, and the subsequent costs incurred by consumers, is a result of LINK’s stubbornness.’

A LINK spokesman said: ‘Cash use is declining and LINK will continue to provide free access to cash for as long as people need it.’

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