THE overseers of the UK's largest cash machine network will today issue a pledge to guarantee free access to cash on every high street in the UK.
LINK say that from today (Thursday) should a high street be threatened with the loss of an ATM or Post Office, it will step in to ensure that a cash machine is made available and paid for with funding from all the UK’s main banks and building societies.
An initial sum of £4m has already been raised to support this. It comes as they revealed that the north-west Highlands village of Durness, where locals have to drive for an hour to get to their nearest free ATM, is to receive a new one as part of the pledge.
The Herald revealed earlier this year that the number of cash machines in Scotland has disappeared at a rate of 32 a month in the 11 months to April. At that point there were 6008 cashpoints in Scotland, with 359 ATMs gone over 11 months.
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The move has been greeted with some scepticism by the consumer organisation Which? who question whether it will resolve the access to cash problem Gareth Shaw, Which's head of money said: "This long-overdue action on cash machines is hugely welcome. But these measures on their own are unlikely to be enough to stem the tide of ATM closures that has left communities across the UK struggling to access cash.
"The government's new access to cash strategy group must urgently explore all options - including legislation – to ensure a robust system is in place to preserve free access to cash for as long as people need it."
The LINK move comes as a group of MPs will today tell ministers that consumers should have a legal right to have a bank branch in their town if their is no voluntary commitment.
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A report on access to cash from the Scottish Affairs Committee recommends the government should seek a pledge from banks to retain at least one branch in every town, or introduce legislation to make it a statutory requirement if that is not forthcoming.
And the report calls on ministers to consider all measures, including legislation, to ensure communities still have access to vital banking services. The report is launched today (Thursday) in Cambuslang, a town of 25,000, which went from having three bank branches to having none in 2017 in the space of 11 months. At the same time the number of cash machines dropped from four to two.
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Scotland has also lost one in three bank branches in just eight years, with over 400 closing since 2015, making it one of the worst affected areas in the UK, and more often than not, the cashpoints will also go with them.
LINK said that in response is to the "rapid and unprecedented decline" in cash usage by British consumers it would commission a new ATM in five communities, including Durness, with poor access to cash.
In Durness, LINK say, " there is persuasive evidence of an unfulfilled need for cash access specific to the local economy which has been highlighted to LINK by local representatives".
LINK says its pledge will ensure that, as the UK continues to evolve from a high-cash economy to one where most payments are made digitally, ATMs, "which remain a vital part of the UK’s cash infrastructure", are protected.
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LINK chief executive John Howells said: “LINK is determined to defend free access to cash across the UK in the face of very rapidly declining cash use. LINK will take further steps to ensure that the free ATM footprint is safe in Scotland and extend its commitment to cover every high street.
“We also want to support communities with specific access to cash needs such as the town of Durness in the north-west Highlands of Scotland. LINK will organise a new free ATM for Durness as part of a national trial to see how to best provide free access to cash.”
READ MORE: Regulator investigates the scale of bank cash machine closures
The free access to cash pledge means that there should be a free ATM or Post Office count within one kilometre of the midpoint of any retail centre - which have five or more shops.
It estimates that only ten have no free access to cash and LINK say they will run a competitive procurement process to have ATMs installed in these locations during 2019. The Payment Services Regulator is currently investigating the loss of free-to-use cash machines across the country, and is also acting on concerns on how some have been converted into pay-to-use.
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