Community

Novelty schemes like this, whilst nice for the 40 or 50 UK sites that may qualify, do nothing to solve the issue of the loss of thousands of free-to-use ATMs throughout the UK. More ATMs are being lost every day. The figures show that the remaining ATMs in the UK are as busy as they have ever been in terms of the amount of cash withdrawn by the public. There is no justification for a single additional ATM to be removed. In reality, every community with 1000 adults needs at least one local, convenient to access, free-to-use ATM. This means that the UK needs between 55000 and 60000 free ATMs, yet there are now under 48000. To get back to the required number of ATMs, LINK needs to return to a transparent funding scheme for ALL remaining ATMs, rather than focusing on 40 or 50 sites of special interest. It is the 45 million plus adults in the UK who continue to want to use cash who deserve LINKs full attention.

The really SERIOUS point is that vested interest are trying to rob the UK Public of Payment Choice. This flawed survey does NOT tell us what the Public WANT. The 59% who are supposedly predicting a “cashless” society by 2030 are NOT saying they WANT that to happen. They are simply saying they believe it may well happen. What’s interesting is that even with the $ Billions anti-cash vested interests are spending to convince the Public that “cashless” is coming, 41% of those surveyed do NOT believe it! Anyway, the anti-cash mob will NEVER win. Cash will remain on the UK Publics Payment Choice menu FOREVER!

We need to stop talking about cash as if it is a minority interest. The case for cash is NOT about a few million people - less than 5% of the population - who only use this payment method. The real issue is that everyone in the UK has the right to Payment Choice, a right to decide for themselves which payment method meets their personal requirements. An attempt is being made to force cash off the Payment Choice menu available to the British public. It must NOT be allowed to succeed. The government needs to act, since their appointed regulators can’t even talk a good game, let alone take decisive action. Government intervention is needed as follows, with urgent legislation as necessary to force outcomes: * LINK must return to a cost-based ATM interchange. Arbitrary cuts which render ATM services uneconomic to provide are UNACCEPTABLE. * LINK must have a statutory obligation to guarantee free access to ATM cash in every community. Let’s stop the pretence there are better ways to deliver cash; there are NOT. * oblige businesses to accept cash payments for in-person transactions. There you have it. Three steps needed to ensure that the UK public - ALL of us - can continue to have cash as a Payment Choice. The time for committees, reports and debate is over! Action is required NOW, in 2019!

This blog, in focusing on the UK, makes assumptions that are incorrect. ATMs elsewhere on the planet ARE substitutes for bank branches. The fact that UK ATMs do NOT offer a variety of financial services transactions points to a lack of investment in community customer services, something considered unacceptable in many other countries. Even in the UK, it is wrong to suggest cash withdrawals are the only service on offer. Balance enquires and similar services account for more than 1/3rd of all ATM activity. The recent Access to Cash Report revealed 97% - YES, 97% - of UK adults continue to carry cash and nearly half of them - 25 million adults - would have their lives seriously disrupted if cash is not conveniently available. Cash is not a Minority Interest - the majority of people continue to choose to use cash and MUST be free to do so. They are entitled to have Payment Choice. As regards how this vital cash is supplied, ATMs are the ONLY channel that works for the vast majority of the public - which is why ATMs meet over 90% of the UK’s cash needs today. Cash from retailers tills - “cash back” - can augment cash from ATMs BUT never replace it. The figures are easy to understand. The average free-to-use UK ATM delivers £3 Million cash per annum; a local community shop, usually (from Association of Convenience Stores own figures) achieves total sales of less than £1 Million a year - and 25% or more of those sales are card-based. So, clearly, such a shop cannot possibly deliver £3 Million per year via “cash back”, to replace a lost ATM. What we - the UK Public -need is not misguided and unworkable schemes to replace ATMs. What we DO need is legal protections put in place to guarantee the future provision of Smart ATMs - allowing deposit, recycling and withdrawal of cash - in EVERY community, ATMs which CAN replace the dodo-emulating bank branches. Such legal protection will safeguard ACCESS to cash for individuals and businesses around the UK. We also need ACCEPTANCE of cash guaranteed by law, so that no business which accepts in-person payments is permitted to refuse cash for payment. Other markets have such laws. The UK must follow their lead, in the Public Interest. No further blogs required. The answers are provided in what I have just keyed.

This blog, in focusing on the UK, makes assumptions that are incorrect. ATMs elsewhere on the planet ARE substitutes for bank branches. The fact that UK ATMs do NOT offer a variety of financial services transactions points to a lack of investment in community customer services, something considered unacceptable in many other countries. Even in the UK, it is wrong to suggest cash withdrawals are the only service on offer. Balance enquires and similar services account for more than 1/3rd of all ATM activity. The recent Access to Cash Report revealed 97% that 97% of UK adults continue to carry cash and nearly half of them - 25 million adults - would have their lives seriously disrupted if cash is not conveniently available. Cash is not a Minority Interest - the majority of people continue to choose to use cash and MUST be free to do so. They are entitled to have Payment Choice. As regards how this vital cash is supplied ATMs are the ONLY channel that works for the vast majority of the public - which is why ATMs meet over 90% of the UK’s cash needs today. Cash from retailers tills - “cash back” - Can augment cash from ATMs BUT never replace it. The figures are easy to understand. The average free-to-use UK ATM delivers £3 Million cash per annum; a local community shop, usually (from Association of Convenience Store figures) achieving total sales of less than £1 Million a year - and 25% or more of those sales are card-based. So, clearly, such a shop cannot possibly deliver £3 Million per year via “cash back”. What we - the UK Public -need is not misguided and unworkable schemes to replace ATMs. What we DO need is legal protections put in place to guarantee the future provision of Smart ATMs - allowing deposit, recycling and withdrawal of cash - in EVERY community, ATMs which CAN replace the dodo-emulating bank branches. Such legal protection will safeguard ACCESS to cash for individuals and businesses around the UK. We also need ACCEPTANCE of cash guaranteed by law, so that no business which accepts in-person payments is permitted to refuse cash for payment. Other markets have success laws. The UK must follow their lead, in the Public Interest. No further blogs required. The answers are provided in what I have just keyed.

We agree on the first point. As regards tax, avoidance by big business and the super rich who control much of the worlds wealth is the REAL issue. Politicians won’t deal with it because it is too difficult and/or the “avoiders” are there supporters. Finally, there could be an argument for ALL ATMs charging, say, 50p for a cash withdrawal, with specific cardholder being exempt from charges at ANY ATM. However, almost certainly politically unacceptable at the moment.

You are concerned about an option being pushed? It remains an option, pushed or not. That is what I support, not the limiting of options that would brought about by bank branch, ATM and cash deserts. As regards the merits of a cashlesss society, Cash is the cheapest payment for retailers to manage ( the British Retail Consortium, which represents 80% of major retailers, produce figures showing this each year). So there would be no direct cost benefits from going cashless. As regards, tax evasion and other crimes, there are 5 Billion regular users of cash on the planet. All forms of crime that are sometimes associated with cash are tiny by comparison with the legal uses made by those 5 Billlion. The crimes of a few should not lead to the punishment of the many. Finally, you seem to advocate Independent ATM operators charging for cash withdrawals? You will be happy to learn then that there are 15,000 pay-to-use ATMs in the UK. That’s more than 20% of all ATMs in the country. However, only 2.5% of Cash Withdrawals are made at those ATMs. Unsurprisingly, the UK public prefer to get cash without a direct charge at 55,000 free-to-use ATMs. The real problem in the UK is that banks pretend that banking can be free, part of which entails providing free ATM transactions. Banks themselves could lead the way by making reasonable charges for all services, instead of cross-subsidising “free” banking for 80% of their customers by heavily charging the 20% who face high overdraft and credit card charges and penalties. I recommend the book “Naked Banking” for a full exposition of such matters.