Less than one month since launching its Community Access to Cash Delivery Fund, LINK, the UK’s main cash machine network have received more 100 applications for new ATMs.
The requests have come from every corner of the country, with isolated rural communities, deprived urban areas and small towns all getting in touch.
To meet this demand, LINK is today launching its new dedicated website for applications and help. This can be found here.
Local communities can apply through their MP, local council, or request help directly from LINK for support for free access to cash. For requests for a free-to-use cash machine, if it meets the criteria which includes distance to nearest free ATM, availability of a Post Office, site security and that there is a suitable host location, LINK will fund the new ATM directly.
John Howells, LINK CEO said “It’s great that we’ve had so much interest so far. Many of the applications show there are locations around the country where there is a cash access problem. We’ve already visited 10 of these locations and will be working hard to listen to every community that has got in touch.
We want to hear from more communities that think they have an issue. Where there is a problem, LINK will take action.”
In August, LINK announced a commitment to protect free access to cash for every high street in the UK. Eleven new ATMs so far will form part of a pilot scheme and will be funded with the support of LINK’s bank and building society members. These new towns that will get a free ATM are Deal, Ebbw Vale, Margate, Middleton, Wilmslow, York, Battle, Bungay, Nuneaton, Tywyn in Wales, and Durness in Scotland.
In the past couple of weeks, three new ATMs, directly commissioned by LINK ATMs have been installed in locations that lost their free-to-use ATM. At the beginning of October, a new machine was installed in a retailer in the village in Ardington, Oxfordshire and last week saw two new ATMs open for business in Elham, Kent in the village’s local pub and Bracknell, Berkshire in the local petrol station.
