Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking to ensure that people on low incomes have local access to a free-to-use ATM.

The Government is committed to supporting digital payments whilst safeguarding access to cash for those who need it. To support this, the Government has launched the Joint Authorities Cash Strategy (JACS) Group – which brings together the Payment Systems Regulator, Financial Conduct Authority and Bank of England – to ensure a comprehensive oversight of the UK’s overall cash infrastructure.

The Government expects industry to play a crucial role in protecting access to cash. As part of its Financial Inclusion Programme, LINK, the scheme that runs the UK’s largest ATM network, has introduced premiums of up to £2.75 per transaction that support ATMs in the most deprived areas of the UK and runs an initiative for local areas to request an ATM.

The Government-established Payment Systems Regulator regulates LINK, and is holding LINK to account over their commitments to maintain the broad geographic spread ATMs that are free at the point of use.