ATM charges

People using fee-charging cash machines are to be told the approximate fee they will be charged under new rules which came into force on Friday.

 

Fee-charging machines will have to display on screen how much the customer is being charged for a cash withdrawal.

 

The rules also set a minimum size for notices on the front of the cash machine, warning that there is a charge for withdrawal.

 

But critics of fee-charging machines say that the rules don't go far enough.

 

There are currently more than 54,000 cash machines in the UK, four out of 10 of which charge a fee.

 

Consumers now pay £140m a year to access their money.

 

Backbench Response: Labour MP John Robertson

 

"The number of fee-charging cash machines is on the rise. At the moment, a fee is charged at approximately 40 per cent of ATMs. Very soon it could be over 50 per cent.

 

"That’s ok if you can get to a free machine nearby – but it’s bad news if you can’t afford transport; if you’re too elderly to walk far; or if you live in an isolated area.

 

"From July 1, new rules introduced by Link come into force, requiring the operators of charging machines to:

• Show on the screen - before customers insert a card - how much they can expect to pay to withdraw their own money.
  
  
• Increase the type size on warning stickers to minimum 14pt and to place the stickers in places where they are more visible.
  
  
• Include warning signs about charging on posters or billboards outside shops that advertise cash machine services.

"The new rules are good for consumers but I think they don’t go far enough.I believe that the owners of public sector sites like the post office, and railway/tube stations, should place charging ATMs only where a free machine is not commercially viable.

 

"I'd also like to see a cap on charges.Until that happens, these charges amount to a tax on the poor and the elderly."

 

 

Stakeholder Response: Nationwide

 

 

 

Nationwide director Charles Reed said: "The Treasury select committee report into charging cash machines was a good analysis and it called for action, so it is important that this does not simply gather dust. 

 

"It is now time for the government to respond and say how it plans to implement those recommendations, including plans for ensuring ATMs in public spaces such as Post Offices are free when commercially viable.

 

"Day by day consumers' right to access cash for free is being eroded by the rapid growth in charging machines, and by the fact that there is no cap on the charges.

 

"For some people the convenience of being able to withdraw cash when and where they need it outweighs the charges, but the fact is that people on low incomes, who may need to make more frequent withdrawals, can be particularly hard hit by charges.

 

"The new rules are a step in the right direction but Nationwide would still like consumers to be able to see at-a-glance if a machine charges."

 

 

Stakeholder Response: Which?

 

 

 

Laurence Baxter, senior policy adviser at Which?, said: "Fortunately Link's new labelling rules, released on Friday, will ensure customers know whether cash machines charge and how much that charge will be.

 

"But we want this labelling system to go further, with labels on all ATMs, to show whether machines are free or charging.

 

"We also believe there is an urgent need for the government and banking industry to come up with practical solutions to ensure that all people can access their money free of charge, if they choose to."