Impact of ATM closures on towns and communities
There have been recent headlines about the possibility of widespread cuts to the ATM network. These proposals have since changed, but the announcement highlighted the important role that cash provision facilities makes to the viability of businesses and the vitality of local communities.
ATMs have become a very familair feature and convenience of daily life over the course of their 50 year span. Recent proposals by the main network responsible for their operation (Link) to chnage the paying fee structure prompted fears that the network might shrink, particularly in poorer areas, or that there would be fewer free to use ATMs. Although the proposals were changed in part in response to the reaction they aroused, they brought attention to the role of ATMs in the future - a future where cash might play a significntly less important role than it does now.