Cash Network

Debate between Lord Agnew of Oulton and Baroness Bryan of Partick

Tuesday 7th September 2021 Lords Chamber

[Lord Agnew of Oulton (Con)]

I agree with my noble friend that cash remains a very important measure of exchange in this country. It is now the second most important—it is less important than it was—but we are committed to supporting it.

[Baroness Bryan of Partick (Lab)]

My Lords, in answer to a Question on 19 July this year, the noble Baroness, Lady Penn, stated that

“industry is best placed to develop the most efficient and sustainable solutions for access to cash”.—[Official Report, 19/7/21; col. 3.]

If that is the case, can the Minister explain why 8,000 ATMs—13% of the total—have disappeared in the past 18 months, making access to cash even more difficult?

[Lord Agnew of Oulton (Con)]

To reassure the noble Baroness, there are still some 40,000 ATMs in the country at the last count, and we remain committed to supporting their continuation. Link, the payment services provider for cash machines, has restated that a number of times. The other side of the coin is that the percentage of transactions using cash has declined dramatically; it was 56% of all transactions in 2010, and is now down to 17%. The usage is declining, which is why some of these facilities are going.