Post Office Ltd to invest £16m in ATM network

Last month Post Office Ltd (PO) announced that it will be investing £16 million over four years to update its network of ATMs.

PO’s agreement with the Bank of Ireland (BOI) – which currently owns and operates the network’s 2,000 ATMs – is due to end in March 2022, after which PO will retain around 1,400 commercially viable free-to-use ATMs which it will own and operate itself.

As part of the plans, PO will become a member of LINK, the UK’s largest cash machine network.

PO has also committed to retaining almost 60 ‘lower-transacting ATMs’ at locations where the next free-to-access ATM is a ‘significant distance away’.

The process will begin towards the second half of 2021, with all ATMs transferring to the Post Office estate by March 2022. These ATMs will then be replaced with new devices that have the ‘latest cash dispensing technology and security measures.’ This programme is due to be completed by mid-2023.

PO has said that they will be providing support for post offices that will no longer have ATMs, including posters to inform customers that they can carry out their everyday banking needs over the counter. Subpostmasters will also be able to apply to LINK’s ‘Request an ATM’ scheme for an ATM to be installed at their office.

NFSP CEO Calum Greenhow said: “Access to cash, particularly for older and more vulnerable people, is a key priority of the NFSP. Although this is good news for some colleagues, it will be concerning news for the approximately 600 post offices who will lose their ATMs as a result of these plans. The NFSP stressed the importance of the ATM network in our discussions with PO. We welcome PO’s decision not to walk away and to be a key player in the market. We encourage anyone who may be affected to contact the NFSP for support and guidance moving forward.”

For more information and advice, get in touch with the NFSP by calling 01273 452324 or email communications@nfsp.org.uk