North MP leads cross-party effort to secure free ATMs
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A HIGHLAND MP has led a group of 26 cross-party MPs calling on the Payments System Regulator (PSR) and the UK Government to take action on the 'interchange fee' – allowing cash machines or ATMs up and down the country to become free to use.
MP Jamie Stone, who represents Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, said a decision from ATM provider LINK to cut the fee paid by banks to ATM providers for every cash withdrawal has passed costs onto consumers, resulting in the lack of free-to-use cash machines.
10,500 free-to-use cash machines have already disappeared across the UK in the past two years - with one in four ATMs now charging Scots to withdraw cash.
The letter – signed by the Liberal Democrats, SNP, Labour, and Conservative parties – as well as the parliamentary motion introduced by Mr Stone advocates for the PSR to introduce a tiered or zonal approach to interchange fees, which would ensure funding is fairly distributed throughout the UK to protect access to cash in all communities.
After sending the letter, Jamie Stone MP said: "It’s unacceptable that my constituents have to pay to access their hard earned cash.
"There are those who are vulnerable or elderly or simply live too far away from a free-to-use ATM - it’s the regular and disadvantaged folks in the community that are bearing the brunt of this.
"I hope the regulator and the UK Government take up my proposals, rethink their current position and introduce a fairer system for all. "
Read more about Jamie Stone.
