April 30, 2006
Guardian Unlimited:Independent ATM operators are expected come under fire this week at a government-organized ATM summit to examine the explosion in machines that charge for withdrawals. Economic secretary to the Treasury, Ivan Lewis, said the summit will be an opportunity to "thrash out" the issues surrounding charging cash machines and decide what action if any needs to be taken to ensure the public is not ripped off. By end-2005, nearly 43 percent of the United Kingdom's 57,908 ATMs charged a fee, up slightly from 40 percent in 2004.