UK Post Office drops 600 cash machines in restructure
By Sunniva Kolostyak
The Post Office, the UK’s postal service, has announced that it will lose 600 of its 2,000 ATMs in a restructure, but that it is investing £16 million to upgrade the network and protect access to cash.
The cash machines are currently owned and operated by the Bank of Ireland, who is reportedly withdrawing from the business. The Post Office’s investments, which will be spread over four years, will buy the right to own and operate around 1,400 machines across the UK.
The Post Office is becoming a member of the LINK network and has contracted Cennox for its software solution and managed services. It will use Vocalink to provide the transaction processing services for LINK, Visa, MasterCard and Post Office Card Account transactions carried out at Post Office ATMs.
The first ATM will be migrated to the Post Office estate towards the end of 2021, with all ATMs transferring by the end of March 2022. The programme is to be completed by mid-2023.
Martin Kearsley, Banking Director at the Post Office, said this is one of the largest investment programmes in the free to use ATM market for over a decade.
“Our estate of Post Office-owned and operated ATMs will see postmasters operating some of the most modern and secure ATMs in the market. We have also identified almost 60 additional locations where we have decided to retain a free to access ATM to serve the communities needs despite it not being commercially viable.”
He added that in the areas where ATMs are being removed, customers can still withdraw cash over the counter free of charge.
Commenting on the Post Office’s cash machine restructure, Udo Mueller, CEO paysafecard at Paysafe, said the announcement highlights the important role cash still has in society, despite the significant shift in the payments landscape in the past months.
“At present, industry figures show 1.5 million adults in the UK are unbanked and 2.2 million rely on cash for day-to-day spending,” Mueller said. “We believe that when it comes to payments, choice is critical and the rights of consumers to continue paying in cash should be protected. Businesses should not have to suffer either.”
According to Paysafe’s research, 84 per cent of consumers now think differently about how they make payments, with 63 per cent using contactless cards and 12 per cent using digital wallets.
“However, physical currency is still vital for accessing certain services and the wider banking system. 72% of consumers are uncomfortable with the idea of not being able to access cash during COVID-19 and one in two feel cash is the most reliable form of payment during a crisis,” Mueller said.
“One solution that bridges the physical and digital options is eCash. eCash is a digital cash solution that provides a way to pay for products and services without resorting to paper or coin currency and is the logical next step as our relationship with cash evolves and we navigate the changing climate of payments.”
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