More than 250 free-to-use cash machines are disappearing every month in the UK, according to Link, the network co-ordinator. The number of free ATMs has fallen from 54,500 in January 2018 to 53,200 by July, a drop of 1,300 machines in six months.
Link attributes the closures to a decline in cash usage, driven by the rise of contactless payments and other digital methods. Additionally, operators like Cardtronics and Note Machine are shutting unprofitable machines as Link cuts the fees paid to them.
The Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) has announced plans to crack down on the closures. Hannah Nixon, the PSR's managing director, said: 'The requirements we intend to place on Link will help ensure that Link achieves their commitment to protecting the geographic spread of free-to-use ATMs across the UK.'
Link has set up protections for free ATMs more than 1km from the nearest free machine, earmarking 2,365 machines in remote and rural areas. However, 76 of these protected machines closed between January and July, 21 without a Post Office nearby for cash access.
Treasury Committee Chair Nicky Morgan warned the regulator's intervention may be 'too little, too late'. Jenni Allen of Which? Money urged the PSR to 'urgently intervene to stop further closures'. The PSR is also seeking renewed commitments from banks to ensure consumers can access cash.
