Looking for a single ATM that will accept deposits for multiple banks? Thanks to the British banking nonprofit Cash Access UK, it’s becoming a reality.
An initiative by which people can use a “super ATM” to make deposits with multiple banks is being tried out in Atherstone, a small town in the north of England. The plan is to roll out the super ATMs in 16 more communities. Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Halifax, Lloyds, NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Ulster Bank have already signed up to accept deposits through the ATMs.
Cash Access UK, funded by nine leading British banks, is spearheading the effort. The machines are connected to LINK, a nonprofit organization that serves as the UK’s main ATM network. That system has long allowed consumers to withdraw cash from ATMs that are not a part of their bank’s network, but deposits have been a different story. ATM providers NCR Atleos and NoteMachine also worked with LINK on the new generation of ATMs.
A Boon to Small Businesses
The idea driving the super ATMs is that small businesses can take advantage of them to deposit their earnings for the day. With the gradual disappearance of local bank branches, small-business owners have had to travel long distances to deposit their daily cash. According to the UK newspaper The Sun, banks have shut down 5,908 branches since 2015, leaving around half the number of branches that existed a decade ago.
“The decline of the bank branch network has left many without vital services, in particular the ability for small-business owners to deposit takings for the day safely without shutting the small business early or travelling for miles,” Martin McTague, National Chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said in a prepared statement. “The ability to deposit in a super ATM that works for multiple banks is an important innovation and could make a real difference alongside the accelerated rollout of banking hubs and maintenance of Post Office counters.”
Brits Are Spending Cash
One reason the super ATMs are coming online now is that cash has experienced a bit of a resurgence in usage in the UK in recent years. According to a UK Finance report cited by the BBC, the number of payments made with cash increased by 7% in 2023.
That was the first time in 10 years that cash as a payment method had made an uptick in the UK. Physical money came out as the second most popular form of payment, making up 14% of total payments.
