In an effort to protect cash, banks and building societies are to consider reasonable cash access services under proposals by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Cash is an essential service for convenience stores, with more than 50% of store transactions still conducted using cash.

The Association of Convenience Stores has welcomed the move by FCA, and also repeated its calls for a review of interchange fees.

Forty per cent of shops currently host ATMS, and 23% still house post offices, said the ACS.

With banks and building societies facing closures across the UK, convenience stores have become ever more essential for the public to access their money and use essential services.

As of November 2023, almost half (48%) of constituencies in the UK experienced a reduction of 30% or more in free-to-use ATMs since July 2018, according to ACS’ ATM Tracker. In 19% of constituencies, there are more than 2,000 people per ATM.

ACS chief executive James Lowman said: “We are calling for an urgent review of interchange fees to ensure that enough retailers across the UK can continue to provide access to cash for the millions of people who rely on it every week. The current system is set up to reduce the number of ATMs available over a number of years, but it’s clear that provision is becoming too scarce, too fast. ATMs are an essential service that retailers want to provide, but find it increasingly difficult to do so because of the financial constraints they’re facing.”

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