Do YOU ​​live in one of Britain’s ATM deserts? Exclusive data shows that regions are experiencing the most closures of free ATMs

We all ran up and down the High Street in a desperate search for an ATM. Inevitably, when you are most in need, you find that there is no one to be seen.

But the search is only getting harder: in some parts of the country, more than half of the free ATMs have been removed in the past five years, new figures show.

A growing number of areas are becoming a money desert as bank branches continue to rapidly withdraw from high streets, literally leaving a hole in the wall.

And it seems that nowhere is safe: large numbers of ATMs are closing in both city centers and rural areas.

In Hayes and Harlington, west London, 100 of the 189 free ATMs have disappeared since 2019, according to ATM network group Link. In North Somerset, 30 of the 57 have disappeared. Meanwhile, in Cheadle, south of Manchester, 29 of the 55 have disappeared.

In many urban areas, free-to-use ATMs are being converted to ATMs that charge fees to withdraw money, Link reports. The City of London, a major center of hospitality and entertainment where tourists and locals rely on access to cash, has lost 270 free-to-use machines. More than seventy of these have now been converted into payment terminals in Glasgow.

In the past five years, 9,978 free machines have closed across Britain, according to figures shared with Wealth & Personal Finance.

At the current rate, Link says 60 percent of the High Street’s free ATMs will be disabled by the end of the decade.

About 23,000 ATMs are expected to close, reducing the number from 38,000 to 15,000, Link chief executive John Howells said. Five years ago there were 50,000 free ATMs.

Which areas are most affected?

Bristol has seen the largest proportion of free cash machines disappear of any city, with more than a third removed since 2019. The biggest fall was in west Bristol, with 39 per cent closed.

Similarly, residents of the Vale of Glamorgan in Wales have lost a third of local free ATMs.

But the trend is a problem in Britain, Link warns.

In Hertfordshire, 28 per cent of free ATMs no longer exist, compared to 26 per cent in Surrey, 23 per cent in Leicestershire and 22 per cent in Greater Manchester.

Steve Makaritis, CEO of NoteMachine, Britain’s second largest ATM provider, said: ‘The decline in free-to-use ATMs in the UK threatens access to essential banking services, impacting both urban and rural communities. ‘ The provider has called for urgent action from regulators and policymakers to preserve money services, which it says remain vital to millions of people and small businesses. Market researcher YouGov found last year that 97 percent of us still withdraw cash for transactions, and 71 percent wanted strict rules to stop banks leaving the high street.

Only 3 percent of British adults said they had gone completely ‘cashless’, never using notes or coins for payments again.

But despite the exodus of these essential services from cities, the use of cash has increased.

In 2022, the economy grew for the first time in a decade, as stressed households turned to banknotes and coins to manage their budgets. Cash payments made up 19 percent of transactions in 2022, up from 15.2 percent the year before, according to the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium.

Still, in January it was announced that almost 200 bank branches would close, but since then another 53 branches have been added to that list.

Nearly 6,000 banks have closed across Britain since the start of 2015, as banks continue to make cuts and highlight customers’ shift to online services.

They claim the closures are due to a change in habits, with more people preferring to do their banking online and pay cashless. But the demand for cash is high, especially for many small businesses and the elderly.

James Lowman, CEO of The Association of Convenience Stores, which supports more than 49,000 local shops, said: ‘The loss of free ATMs over the past five years continues to be felt in communities across the UK.

“Convenience stores have strived to provide customers with access to cash where bank branches have closed in large numbers, but many are operating this service at a loss.”

In January it emerged that almost three million people will be living in a ‘banking desert’ by the end of 2024. About 30 parliamentary constituencies, estimated at 2.8 million people, will no longer have physical bank branches by December, says consumer group Which?

The city’s regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority, has been given powers to ensure customers have ‘reasonable access’ to free cash deposit and withdrawal facilities.

In December, the regulator outlined tough new rules that will make it harder to remove free ATMs when banks close their branches. However, it is expected that these rules will not come into effect until the autumn.