By Sean Poulter for the Daily Mail
Published: 00:55 BST, 1 May 2019 | Updated: 00:56 BST, 1 May 2019
View
comments
One in ten of the free-to-use cash machines that give a lifeline to communities are under threat, campaigners warn.
Thousands are being converted so that they charge for withdrawals or they are being removed entirely, research shows.
In the first three months of the year, 1,700 ATMs have begun charging up to £1.99 per withdrawal.
Thousands of ATMs are being converted so that they charge for withdrawals or they are being removed entirely, research shows (stock image)
With many more due to be taken away or introduce charges, consumer experts Which? say that within months more than ten per cent of the UK’s free cashpoints could be lost.
The machines provide a financial lifeline to millions, particularly the elderly, who rely on them to provide cash for everyday shopping and paying bills.
The nation’s 63,000 ATMs handle more than 50million transactions each week with withdrawals totalling £2.2billion. Figures obtained by consumer group Which? show fees of between 95p and £1.99 per withdrawal were imposed at almost 1,700 machines between January and March.
It warned that the rate fees are being introduced is rising sharply as three-quarters of these changes happened in March alone.
Almost 3,000 cash machines were withdrawn in the last six months of 2018, more than half of them free to use.
