ATM closures will hit elderly reliant on cash, says watchdog

 The UK’S increasingly cashless society is leaving elderly people behind, a consumer watchdog has warned, as they called on the regulator to intervene to stop ATM closures.

Which? has warned that millions of elderly and vulnerable consumers are most under threat from plans to close hundreds of cashpoints.

Some 80 per cent of retirees are reliant on cash and use it at least two to three times a week, a Which? survey found. In total more than 2.2million people rely on cash, the report said.

Two out of five (41 per cent) of respondents expressed concern about the decline of the ATM network over the last decade, it added. Research shows cash machines are shutting at a rate of 250 a month, highlighting the failings of LINK’S Financial Inclusion Programme.

Which? said: “Lower income families and older generations will be among the worst hit.”