The decline of free-to-use cash machines could leave vulnerable people stranded with no easy way to access their money, campaigners have warned.
Data compiled by MP Layla Moran and shared with HuffPost UK show more than 7,600 free ATMs had vanished from our streets in the two years up to October 2019 – and latest figures by consumer group Which? suggest the figure has reached around 9,500.
Broken down by parliamentary constituency, Moran’s data shows the the worst-hit areas are Glasgow North West, where more than 40% have been lost, and Birmingham Hall Green, which saw a 38% decline.
Oxford West MP Moran said: “I am deeply concerned about the trend of cash-points closing in our communities. As my Lib Dem colleague Jane Dodds has highlighted in Brecon in Wales, some people in rural communities now need to drive huge distances to access their money.
“What about those who cannot drive like the elderly, the young or disabled? Combine this with woeful local transport and I worry about the potential of seeing large parts of the country becoming cash deserts.”
In 2017 there were a total of 54,833 free-to-use cashpoints across the country, and by October 2019 there were 47,159 – a total of 7,674 lost.
About 150 pay-to-use cashpoints were lost during the same period.
Of the UK’s 650 constituencies, just 24 have seen either no change, or an increase, in their availability of free ATMs.
Which? is urging newly-appointed chancellor Rishi Sunak to use his first budget next week to protect the UK’s access to cash, as it says the industry’s efforts to fix the situation are doomed to fail.
The organisation renewed its plea after Link – the UK’s largest cashpoint network – issued a stark warning that the free cash system will collapse within just two years without government intervention.
The “Request an ATM” scheme, designed to allow local communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to apply for funding for a cash machine.
But it has received just 274 requests to date, and Which? believes the figure shows a “lacklustre, reactive approach taken by the industry to identify the areas that are in most severe need of help”.
Experts say the only way to safeguard cash, in a society in which contactless and card payments are skyrocketing, is to ensure legislation is developed to protect cash for as long as people rely on it.
Gareth Shaw, head of money at Which?, said: “The sharp decline in ATMs shows how the UK’s cash system is on the brink of collapse.
“This reduction, combined with swingeing cuts to bank branches across the UK, means millions of people now face being cut off from the cash they need to pay for vital goods and services.
“This budget will decide the future of cash. The chancellor must legislate to protect cash for as long as people need it.”