The Press and Journal (Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire)
New fund to boost ATMs
Cash: Hope for remote communities with limited access to cash machines
Consumers and community groups will be able to request a free-to-use ATM in their area directly from operator Link thanks to a new fund.
The Community Access to Cash Delivery Fund is available for those with poor access to cash machines and is part of measures aimed at tackling concerns it is becoming harder for people to take out money.
Those in communities that want to apply could include consumers, councils, community groups or MPs.
Since 2015, there have been 79 bank closures in Grampian and the Highlands, with towns such as Wick, Grantown, Banff, Turriff, Lossiemouth, Huntly and Ellon losing out.
Last night campaigners welcomed the £1 million pot.
Lossiemouth has repeatedly been left cashless following the closure of the town’s last bank branch in June.
Retailer Tony Rook, postmaster at Buckley’s newsagent, hopes Link’s initiative will help ease the burden on the machine he operates, which is one of just two left in town.
He said: “Last weekend the ATM at the Co-op went down, which meant my one got hit with more demand, when that happens it just can’t keep up with the demand.”
Vivian Rae, marketing and PR coordinator for the Cornhill Highland Games thought the initiative could benefit the village, which is five miles south of Portsoy.
She said: “The annual Highland Games in Cornhill by Banff attracts more than 5,000 spectators, as well as a large number of competitors, caterers and trade stall holders.
“With no bank or ATM currently available in Cornhill, visitors to the village are often caught out as money is not accessible within a five-mile radius.”
Sarah Fanet from Kinlochleven, where the village’s only cash machine was recently threatened with closure, added: “Lots of people who come to the village are on holiday – perhaps walking the West Highland Way, and very often people use cash when they are on holiday. Kinlochleven is one of the very few place where you can get cash on the route. It is important to our village.”
To suggest a site, people can email info@link.co.uk and if an application meets the criteria and there is a suitable location, Link will fund the new ATM directly.
Applications will be looked at on a case-by-case basis, depending on factors such as distance to nearest free ATM, the availability of a nearby Post Office and site security.
Link said the move builds on its commitment to protect free access to cash for every high street.
Link chief executive John Howells said: “This is an important development which will allow communities to directly contact Link and get things done to help consumers.”