LINK | The World's Busiest ATM Network | Transaction Management Services

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Press Release

21 December 2003

Christmas Rush at LINK Cash Machines

Cash withdrawals at LINK cash machines hit record levels on the 19 December. Being the last pay day for many people and also the last Friday before the Christmas holidays meant that transaction figures were some of the highest ever.

The first record to be broken was the number of transactions processed within one hour - 896,563 which equates to an average of 249 transactions per second. At its peak, this figure reached 281 transactions per second.

By the end of the day, three new records had been set including:

• New Daily Transactions Peak: 9,898,347
- an increase of 1.5m on the busiest day in 2002.

• New Daily Cash Dispensed Record : £415,043,620.
- the first time LINK has processed withdrawals amounting to over £400m in one day.

• Highest Ever Average Daily Withdrawal Amount: £73.31

In addition to these daily records, LINK processed its highest ever weekly number of transactions last week (w.c. 15 December 2003), this figure totalled 49,478,810.

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Information for Editors

About LINK
LINK Interchange Network Ltd. specialises in electronic transaction management services on behalf of the UK's largest financial institutions and other commercial organisations. LINK manages the LINK network, the world's busiest shared ATM network with 47,000 cash machines deployed and over 95 million LINK-enabled cards in issue in the UK. In addition to providing ATM transaction switching and settlement to its 50 network Members, LINK operates ATMOS; the UK's leading provider of outsourced ATM management and card services.

LINK also manages transactions for the basic bank accounts that form part of the Post Office's universal banking service and has developed a building society branch sharing service on behalf of MutualPlus Limited. LINK is pursuing opportunities to use its proven, secure and reliable network infrastructure to support a new generation of transaction services.

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Press Enquiries:
LINK Press Office
Tel: George Donovan 01423 356284