North East Herts MP Sir Oliver Heald attended an industry event in Parliament in support of protecting access to cash and banking facilities across the UK, hosted by the UK’s second-largest ATM provider, NoteMachine, and Yvonne Fovargue MP.
Sir Oliver joined a cross-party group of colleagues in Westminster in signing a pledge to support the UK’s community banking and cash network. They also heard from NoteMachine’s Chief Executive, Steve Makaritis, about the impact of insufficient funding of free-to-use ATMs on consumers, along with the importance of developing a future-proof alternative to bank branches, that protects service access, face-to-face banking and financial inclusion.
Cash and in-person banking services remain vital for millions of individuals and small businesses around the UK. Attendees discussed how these services can be protected, as well as the steps policymakers can take in response to the 5,000 bank branch closures that have occurred since 2015.[1]
The UK’s free-to-use cash machine estate is also at risk, with LINK data showing that the number of ATMs dropped by 30% across the UK over the last 5 years[2]. This decline has, in part, been driven by the continued real terms drop in the withdrawal fee paid by banks to independent operators to maintain the network.
Commenting, Sir Oliver said "It is clear that cash remains a vital payment method for many people in my constituency, including the most vulnerable in society, those living in rural areas, small shops and independent businesses. I am committed to supporting the campaign to protect free access to cash and help future-proof banking services for my constituents.”
Steve Makaritis, Chief Executive, NoteMachine, said: “NoteMachine welcomes the recent amendments to the Financial Services and Markets Bill to ensure there is sufficient access to banking facilities, but further action still needs to be taken on cash. Whilst there is commitment to protect free access to cash, these amendments do not go far enough to address the fundamental issue facing the free-to-use network. Without action to address the funding of withdrawal fees, it’s not feasible to maintain the number of free machines by independent ATM operators.”
[2] https://www.link.co.uk/about/statistics-and-trends/