Post Office to axe 600 cash machines
The Post Office will cut 600 of its free to use cash machines after a decision to take the assets in-house.
Over the next four years, the Post Office will invest £16m into 1,400 ATMs across its estate.
At the moment, there are 2,000 cash machines at its branches, but these are owned and operated by the Bank of Ireland.
The cuts, which were first reported by the Telegraph, come amid a series of closures of bank branches and cash points.
As a result of the health concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, contactless and mobile payments have become more and more popular, meaning that it is not profitable to run cash machines.
However, the closure of such assets is a challenge for those people who still rely on cash, such as the elderly.
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For those locations which will no longer have an ATM, the Post Office said it will provide support including posters informing their customers that they can carry out their everyday banking needs over the counter.
It also said it would keep on 60 cash machines that are not commercially viable in locations where the next free to access ATM is a significant distance away.
The process of migrating the ATMs to Post Office ownership will begin next year, with all cash machines set to have been transferred by March 2022.
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.
“Millions of people rely on cash every day and we are ensuring anyone who wants cash can get it in whichever way is most convenient for them.”