Bank branch closures force Londoners to fork out £18MILLION a year in cash machine fees
On average, people are paying £1.75 a withdrawal, but it can sometimes be as high as £10
PAY-TO-USE cash machines are costing Londoners £18million a year, according to a new report.
Thanks to the closure of more than 40 bank branches in the capital over the past two years, Londoners are finding it more difficult to get access to free cash.
According to a report by the GLA Conservatives, many Londoners now live more than 1km from a free cash machine, and due to mobility issues are required to pay for withdrawals.
The lack of access to free ATM’s disproportionately affects low-income groups, the disabled, and the elderly, the report found.
On average, people are paying £1.75 a withdrawal, but it can sometimes be as high as £5 or £10.
London Assembly Member Shaun Bailey, who wrote the report, said: “Contactless and online payment technology may be the future, but there are still many Londoners who rely on cash to get by.
“With bank branches closing and fee-charging machines becoming the norm it is no surprise Londoners are spending £18million on cash withdrawals.
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The GLA Conservatives called on Mayor Sadiq Khan to encourage public buildings to include free cash machines.
Around 25 per cent of the 70,000 cash machines in the UK charge, while the rest are free to use.
In London, there are 6,888 cash machines, 1,649 of which charge a fee for withdrawals.
But the number of free-to-use ATMs is at an all-time high, according to Link, with more than 53,000 and 97 per cent of all ATM cash withdrawals made free of charge.
With Londoners representing 13 per cent of the population, and with three per cent of all cash machines across the UK fee paying, the GLA Conservatives calculated that Londoners lose more than £18million a year if all the fee paying cash machines charge £1.70.
The issue of access to free cash machines goes back as far as 2004, when the House of Commons Treasury Committee produced a report on cash machine charges.
It recently emerged that members of Link, which runs Britain’s cash machine network, could start charging for accessing cash as a result of an ongoing row about fees amongst members of the ATM network.
In crisis talks held by the network in January, members agreed to work on a way to keep cash machines free and will report back on its plans later this year.
A Link spokesperson told The Sun Online: “Over the past ten years, more than 1,820 areas in the country, including in London, have benefited from a new free-to-use cash machine as part of our financial inclusion programme.
“While the Link scheme does not select individual ATM locations, we recognise many consumers rely on cash and we are committed to ensuring access to cash continues to be safe, convenient for everyone that needs it.”
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