Link and PayPoint hail free cash withdrawals pilot

The trial, which is currently operating across 13 small shops in four communities across the UK, has seen more than 1,500 cash withdrawals and 165 balance enquiries made with an average withdrawal size of £26.80.

The pilot scheme is taking place across Burslem in Staffordshire (England), Hay-on-Wye in Powys (Wales), Cambuslang in South Lanarkshire (Scotland), and Denny in Falkirk (Scotland).

Retailers are remunerated for providing this service by the cardholder’s bank via PayPoint and consumers using the service can withdraw precise amounts rather than be restricted to the denominations of notes dispensed by ATMs.

Adrian Roberts, chief commercial officer at Link, said: “The pilot has got off to a strong start and it’s very encouraging to see so many consumers making use of and benefitting from this new service. As we use less cash, solutions such as this become more important as ways of providing free access to cash in all communities. Last week the government began consulting on protecting cash access and we’re very pleased to see cashback without purchase as one of the proposed solutions.”

John Glen, economic secretary to the Treasury, added: “It is vital that we find new ways to ensure consumers and businesses can easily access cash in their local area. The government is currently exploring how to make cashback without a purchase widely available from local retailers, and I am pleased to see good early demand in these industry trials. These pilots, and others in the Community Access to Cash Initiative, will provide important lessons as we develop new legislation to protect access to cash.”