News

Study: access to ATMs not so easy for some Brits

March 21, 2013

A report by the U.K. Payments Council has found that some Britons in low income and rural areas do not have adequate access to ATMs. The council has vowed to help remedy this situation.

According to a BBC report, the Payments Council, which oversees payments policy in the U.K., found that 81percent of survey respondents said it was "very easy" to get cash.

However access problems were found among groups residing away from towns or living on limited budgets.

Issues included:

• broken or unstocked ATMs;
• limited access to free ATMs;
• inability to withdraw smaller denomination notes (i.e., £5) at ATMs;
• security worries at ATMs in high-crime areas;
• lines at ATMs in areas with few machines.

"It is encouraging that the substantial majority of consumers and businesses are able to get cash easily, but the Payments Council's focus is on those who have reported difficulties — particularly as these customers are often those most dependent on cash to help them manage on a tight budget," Adrian Kamellard, chief executive of the Payments Council, told the BBC

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