ACS has welcomed the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) proposals to ensure that banks and building societies consider reasonable cash access services and has repeated its calls for a review of interchange fees.
ACS’ ATM Tracker, which uses official figures published by Link, indicates that as of November 2023, 48% of constituencies have experienced a reduction of 30% or more in free-to-use ATMs since July 2018. In 19% of constituencies, there are more than 2,000 people per ATM.
James Lowman, ACS Chief Executive, said: “We are calling for an urgent review of interchange fees to ensure that enough retailers across the UK can continue to provide access to cash for the millions of people who rely on it every week. The current system is set up to reduce the number of ATMs available over a number of years, but it’s clear that provision is becoming too scarce, too fast.
“ATMs are an essential service that retailers want to provide, but find it increasingly difficult to do so because of the financial constraints they’re facing.”
To find out more about the FCA’s consultation on Access to Cash click here.
