Cash machines should be free, reveals banking survey

Thu, 04 May 2006

Almost all consumers think cash machines should be free, according to a survey of banking practices carried out by the charity Citizens Advice .

The research revealed that 93 per cent wanted cash machines to stop charges for withdrawing cash and a further 88 per cent said they would only pay a fee if they were in desperate need of cash.

The majority also thought that 30p should be the maximum banking charge for cash withdrawals , with only a minority believing over 50p was an acceptable banking charge.

Concerns over adequate warning displays for fee-charging machines were also raised by the banking survey . Almost half of the respondents who had been charged for withdrawals said they had not been told of the additional fee in advance.

It was thought by the majority that further signs and warning messages were needed to ensure people weren't confused about whether a machine would charge or not.

Speaking about the findings, Teresa Perchard from the Citizens Advice commented that the banking charges most affect those who can least afford it.

"They hit people on low incomes and those living in deprived areas particularly hard and this is made worse by recent bank and post office closures and the move to pay all benefits into accounts ," she explained.

These figures come ahead of a summit this week on the future of cash machine charges, where representatives from the banking world and cash machine providers will be meeting with MPs and people from voluntary sector to discuss the future of fee-charging machines.

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