Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will prevent banks introducing charges for the use of ATM machines.

The Government believes that widespread free access to cash remains extremely important to the day-to-day lives of many consumers and businesses in the UK. To this end, the Government is engaging with LINK (the network that runs the ATMS scheme) and its members, including banks and Independent ATM Deployers, to ensure that widespread free access to cash is maintained, and is encouraged to hear that LINK’s members have committed to further work to find a solution to the dispute.

The Government is also working closely on the issue with the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR), which was established in 2015 to promote competition, innovation and the needs of end users within payment systems. The PSR is in regular contact with LINK, and is monitoring the situation closely, including assessing the potential effect of any developments on the provision of ATMs in the UK and possible impact on the scheme’s user.

The PSR has the ability to act if LINK or any of its members act in a way that conflicts with any of its objectives.