12 July 2010 – London and Berlin: From today, holders of German debit cards – known as ‘girocards’ – will be able to withdraw cash from ATMs across the UK. The UK’s LINK ATM network is opening all 63,000 UK cash machines to all users of the German card scheme (more than 92 million) operated by the Zentraler Kreditausschuss (German Banking Community) [1].
Edwin Schooling Latter, Managing Director, LINK Scheme comments: “We are delighted to open up LINK’s UK cash machine network to cards from elsewhere in Europe. This allows us to offer the same nationwide access that in the past only UK cardholders have enjoyed to debit cardholders from other European countries. Germans will now be able to use their girocards to withdraw cash across the UK. No other scheme can match this breadth of access or convenience in the UK.”
Bernd Fieseler, Managing Member of the Board of Deutscher Sparkassen- und Giroverband (German Savings Banks Association) which currently chairs the Zentraler Kreditausschuss, adds: “The new partnership enables customers to withdraw cash from an additional 21,000 ATMs in the UK with their German ‘girocard’. This marks an improvement of 34% in the acceptance of German girocards compared to today.”
To mark this event, a ceremonial cash withdrawal and reception was held today at the Park Plaza Hotel, Westminster Bridge, in London. Those present included Bernd Fieseler and Oliver Hommel representing ZKA/girocard, Diderik Schonheyder from EAPS, Edwin Schooling Latter, Managing Director LINK Scheme and Ron Delnevo, Managing Director of Bank Machine who arranged for the cash withdrawal to take place at their cash machine.
The development has been made possible thanks to EAPS – the alliance of European debit card schemes – which facilitates pan European ATM and POS transactions by uniting independent card schemes throughout Europe under a single European framework.
EAPS is open to new partners. Card schemes, banks and payment institutions compliant with European requirements and the SEPA Cards Framework of the European Payments Council are encouraged to join.
-ENDS-
Notes to Editors
Media Enquiries - UK
For more information please contact Mark Bowerman at the LINK Press Office.
Email: press@ukpayments.org.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7711 6251 / 020 7711 6340
Mobile: +44 (0) 7811 113 075
Photographs of the launch event are available from the LINK Press Office.
Media Enquiries - Germany
Stefan Marotzke
fur de Zentralen Kreditausschus
Deutscher Sparkasses- und Giroverband e.V.
Tel: 020/20225-5110
Melanie Schmergal
Bundesverband der Deutschen
Volksbanken undRaiffeisenbanken e.V.
Tel.: 030/2021-1320
Dr. Stephan Rabe
Bundesverban Offentlicher Banken
Deutschlands e.V.
Tel.: 030/8192-160
Iris Bethge
Bundesverband deutscher Banken e.V.
Tel.: 030/1663-1200
Dr. Helga Bender
Verband deutscher Pfandbriefbanken e.V.
Tel.: 030/20915-330
About LINK
LINK is the UK's cash machine network. Virtually every cash machine in the UK (free-to-use and pay-to-use) is connected to LINK, and LINK provides the only route through which card issuers can offer their customers reliable nationwide access to cash. All the UK's significant debit and ATM card issuers are LINK members.
Cash machine operators who want to deploy ATMs in the UK must join LINK in order to be able to offer cash to all 100 million LINK-enabled cards in circulation.
The number of free-to-use ATMs in the UK is at an all-time high of 40,000. Almost 97% of all ATM cash withdrawals by UK cardholders in the UK are made free-of-charge.
About girocard
For the German Banking Industry "girocard" is the overarching and neutral umbrella brand for both debit payment schemes, "electronic cash" (Point of Sale) and the German ATM System. It guarantees secure and easy use of debit cards (formerly also referred to as “ec-Karte”) using a PIN (Personal Identification Number).
Approximately 59,000 ATMs and 600,000 POS terminals are operated within the German girocard system, in which the German banking industry participates with over 90 million cards.
The European Banking Community is currently working on the realisation of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA). The goal of SEPA is to enable all citizens to conduct payment transactions within the Euro-Zone under the same conditions as in their home countries.
The name and the logo of girocard was introduced by the German Banking Community in 2007. In the course of the creation of a common logo for the SEPA Area, girocard should primarily facilitate the international acceptance of German debit cards.
About Bank Machine
Bank Machine created the UK’s independent ATM market twelve years ago and now has around 3000 cash machines in locations including cinemas, garage forecourts and retail outlets – ranging from Selfridges to convenience stores. Bank Machine is the first ATM operator to install a network of £5-only dispensing machines which can be found in Waterloo, Bethnal Green and in over 20 Martin McColl stores across the country. These are all free-to-use. Based in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Bank Machine (a division of Cardtronics Inc.) now has over 150 staff.
For further details, contact Surinder Gill on 0207 618 9100 /07940 488 253 or surindergill@luther.co.uk.
[1] The Zentraler Kreditausschuss (ZKA) is the joint committee operated by the central associations of the German Banking industry. These associations are the Bundesverband der Deutschen Volksbanken und Raiffeisenbanken (BVR) for the cooperative banks, the Bundesverband deutscher Banken (BdB) for the private commercial banks, the Bundesverband Öffentlicher Banken Deutschlands (VÖB) for the public-sector banks, the Deutscher Sparkassen- und Giroverband (DSGV) for the savings banks financial group, and the Verband deutscher Pfandbriefbanken (VdP) for mortgage banks. Collectively, they represent more than 2,300 banks.
