ACS calls to protect access to cash as retailers ‘forced to switch’ from free-to-use to charged ATMs

Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has written to the Economic Secretary to the Treasury Andrew Griffith MP calling for action to protect access to cash, highlighting the increasing number of convenience retailers being forced to switch from free-to-use ATMs to charged ATMs.

In the letter, ACS has called on the Government to review the viability of interchange fees to deliver the ATM network as many convenience retailers are being required by ATM operators to move their free-to-use ATMs to pay-to-use ATMs as a result of the rising costs faced by the operators themselves.

Findings from the 2022 Local Shop Report reveal the important role that convenience stores continue to play in promoting financial inclusion in their communities, offering a range of cash and banking services, including free-to-use ATMs (44 per cent of stores), charged ATMs (18 per cent), cashback (69 per cent), bill payment services (76 per cent) and Post Office services (22 per cent).

ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “Cash is still an incredibly important payment method for millions of people in the UK and is used by many customers as a way of managing their money. Convenience stores play a vital role in providing customers with access to their cash but this is becoming increasingly unsustainable for local shops and many members have told us that they are being forced to switch from free-to-use to charged ATMs.

“We are encouraging retailers to use our ATM Tracker to highlight the scale of the issue to their local MPs and urge the Government to take action to protect access to cash across the UK.”

As part of its campaigning activity on access to cash, ACS has submitted a response to the Payment Systems Regulator review of Specific Direction 12, which seeks to uphold the wide-ranging geographic coverage of the UK’s free-to-use ATM network by introducing mandatory reporting requirements for LINK.

ACS has launched a new tool which reveals the change in ATM provision in every constituency across the UK. The new ATM Tracker provides information on total number of ATMs in each constituency has changed since 2018, split between free to use and charged ATMs has changed since 2018 and number of people for every ATM in each constituency.