Over 200 communities in the UK have little or no ATM services - and it could get worse when changes to the LINK network come in.

Consumer group Which? is worried that proposals from LINK - the UK's largest cash machine network - to lower its fees by 20% could lead to mass closures of free-to-use ATMs, hitting already suffering communities even harder. The fee - currently set at 25p - is paid by banks per withdrawal to maintain the free-to-use ATM network.

Which? analysed LINK data on 70,000 cash machines across the UK. It found that 123 postcode districts - with a combined population of 110,935 - did not appear to contain a single ATM, making many consumers reliant on access in nearby villages or towns. Meanwhile, a further 116 postcode districts appear to have just one ATM, around a third of which charge a fee to users. At the opposite end of the scale, around 80 per cent of ATMs are within 300 metres of another cash machine.

Link - which manages the network - says there are too many cash machines in places where they are not needed. But is an area where it is 'not needed' simply a remote area with a smaller population where it is very much needed?

Many rural areas are already struggling to access cash following the bank closures of recent years. Both Newent and Winchcombe have been left without banks, with businesses and residents forced to travel long distances for banking services or to rely on Post Offices, which don't offer the range of services a bank offers.

LINK has said it will encourage operators to keep free machines and to protect free-to-use ATMs that are a kilometre or more from the next nearest free cash machine. But it cannot force operators to keep unprofitable machines available.

This could put a real strain on small, rural businesses which rely heavily on cash.

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