STRATEGIC PARTNERS
December 4, 2001
LONDON -- The UK's Post Office plans to install ATMs at least 3,000 of its branches over the next 18 months, according to a report in the Evening Standard. About two-thirds of them are expected to levy a convenience fee.
The news comes less than a year after banks decided to eliminate all ATM charges in the face of government threats and a barrage of negative publicity.
ATMs are currently available at 500 post offices, and one in five charges a £1 fee for cash withdrawals.
Three financial institutions, Alliance & Leicester, Halifax and Nationwide, and independent deployer Euronet Worldwide manage the Post Office ATM network. Of these, only A&L and Euronet levy charges.
The Post Office does not receive a cut from ATM charges but is paid a fee per transaction. It justifies the £1 levy by saying that many branches are in remote locations and their ATMs would not be economically viable unless customers were charged.
The Post Office offered every financial institution in Britain the chance to participate in its ATM program but most declined. The four that accepted were sent lists of available locations and then negotiated with the Post Office where they would like to be.
