Retailers have expressed anger at being stuck in Cashzone ATM contracts, despite the provider hiking transaction fees to 95p, leading to a decline in cash machine revenue.

The contracts allow the company to adjust charges on the ATMs without permitting stores to exit the agreements.

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A spokesperson for Cashzone owner Cardtronics said: “Many of our contracts allow us to introduce fees to operate and maintain ATMs without making a loss.”

The company blamed a 5% cut in the transaction fee paid to ATM operators by banks. The spokesperson added: “The decision on whether to introduce a fee is taken on a case-by-case basis and reflects the economic viability of the individual machine.”

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