News

Fee-free ATMs on the rise in the UK

A government program that allows tax relief to business owners who offer fee-free ATMs appears to be working.

April 6, 2015

Last October, government ministers in the U.K. set outa planto encourage business owners to stop surcharging customers for ATM cash withdrawals. It now appears that the effort is working.

After business tax relief was promised to stores, gas stations and pubs for offering fee-free ATMs, the number of fee-charging units in the U.K. dropped by 245, bringing the total decline over the last five years to 3,000, a report by Express said.

The publication cited figures from the UK Link Network showing that the number of ATM users who paid fees for cash withdrawals fell by more than one-quarter between 2010 and 2014 — from 86 million 62 million.

According to Link, the number of free-to-use cash machines rose to a current total of 50,578 (out of approximately 69,000 ATMs nationwide).