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ACS calls to protect access to cash as retailers 'forced to switch' from free-to-use to charged ATMs

ACS calls to protect access to cash as retailers 'forced to switch' from free-to-use to charged ATMs
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Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has written to the Economic Secretary to the Treasury Andrew Griffith MP calling for action to protect access to cash, highlighting the increasing number of convenience retailers being forced to switch from free-to-use ATMs to charged ATMs.

In the letter, ACS has called on the Government to review the viability of interchange fees to deliver the ATM network as many convenience retailers are being required by ATM operators to move their free-to-use ATMs to pay-to-use ATMs as a result of the rising costs faced by the operators themselves.


Findings from the 2022 Local Shop Report reveal the important role that convenience stores continue to play in promoting financial inclusion in their communities, offering a range of cash and banking services, including free-to-use ATMs (44 per cent of stores), charged ATMs (18 per cent), cashback (69 per cent), bill payment services (76 per cent) and Post Office services (22 per cent).

ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “Cash is still an incredibly important payment method for millions of people in the UK and is used by many customers as a way of managing their money. Convenience stores play a vital role in providing customers with access to their cash but this is becoming increasingly unsustainable for local shops and many members have told us that they are being forced to switch from free-to-use to charged ATMs.

“We are encouraging retailers to use our ATM Tracker to highlight the scale of the issue to their local MPs and urge the Government to take action to protect access to cash across the UK.”

As part of its campaigning activity on access to cash, ACS has submitted a response to the Payment Systems Regulator review of Specific Direction 12, which seeks to uphold the wide-ranging geographic coverage of the UK’s free-to-use ATM network by introducing mandatory reporting requirements for LINK.

ACS has launched a new tool which reveals the change in ATM provision in every constituency across the UK. The new ATM Tracker provides information on total number of ATMs in each constituency has changed since 2018, split between free to use and charged ATMs has changed since 2018 and number of people for every ATM in each constituency.

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Independent retailers are demanding tougher police action, more bobbies on the beat and harsher punishments as shoplifting levels reach an all-time high, a new survey reveals.

A whopping ninety-one per cent of respondents to a survey conducted by the Federation of Independent Retailers (the Fed) called for more police patrols on streets, while a similar number - 90 per cent - said that shoplifters should be handed harsher sentences.

Seven out of 10 respondents (72 per cent) said their stores had experienced shoplifting, break ins and damage to property, while they and their staff had been physically or verbally threatened.

Just under half of respondents (47 per cent) said they and their employees had been threatened or had suffered abuse and violence when asking for proof of age ahead of selling an age-restricted product.

Forty-four per cent reported that they and their staff had faced abuse or violence because they had refused to make a proxy sale – selling an age restricted product to a customer buying for a minor.

The results of the Fed’s survey came as new figures from the Office of National Statistics revealed that shoplifting was at a record high, with almost half a million offences recorded last year.

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“Inadequate responses from the police and a slap on the wrist for offenders means that shoplifting is soaring, and offenders are becoming more aggressive and brazen,” said Fed National President Mo Razzaq.

“From the responses we received, it is clear that real action is needed by police, by courts and by the government to stem the overwhelming tide of crime against retailers and their staff. Everyone deserves to feel safe at work and for their businesses to be protected against criminals.

“Fed members are also sending a clear message that one of the catalysts for verbal and physical abuse in stores is asking for proof of age before selling an age restricted product. If the government presses ahead with its plans to phase out smoking and vaping through a progressive ban to gradually end the sale of tobacco products across the country, independent retailers will be subject to even greater levels of violence, abuse and theft.”

Calling for action from the government and not just words, Mr Razzaq continued: “Without effective deterrent, criminals and opportunistic members of the public will continue to commit crimes.”

According to Ministry of Justice statistics, during the year to March 2024, 431 fines were handed out for retail theft under £100, while Home Office statistics for the same period show that 2,252 cautions were accepted for shoplifting.