Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent steps he has taken to protect consumers from high levels of surcharging when they withdraw cash from their accounts.

Rules governing ATM surcharging are currently set by the LINK scheme, a commercial arrangement that manages the network that connects the UK’s ATMs.

LINK statistics show that the number of free-to-use ATMs is at an all-time high of over 53,000 and over 98% of all ATM cash withdrawals by UK cardholders in the UK are made free of charge.

LINK runs a financial inclusion programme which subsidises free to use ATMs in areas without existing access. LINK has identified 1,694 rural and/or deprived ‘target’ areas, and 87% of these areas are now served by 916 subsidised cashpoints, up from 171 in 2007.