The future of thousands of free cash machines is in doubt as bankers demand a cut in the cost of running the Link network.

They are calling for a 20% reduction in a fee the bank incurs if customers use free machines in shopping centres, supermarkets and railway stations. Insiders say the system "makes no economic sense" as cash withdrawals are on the decline. Debit card and contactless payments are taking over, they say. One independent ATM operator said a quarter of free-to-use sites could be lost. About 53,000 of the 70,000 Link cash machines are free to customers, but the system still has to be paid for.

Who picks up the bill?

When you withdraw cash from a machine which does not belong to your bank, there is an interchange fee which your bank has to cover. The fee is 17p per transaction from a branch ATM and 12p for a balance enquiry. This fee is paid by the customer's bank to the bank that owns the ATM where the withdrawal is being made. But at a non-bank machine of the sort outside shops and stations, the fee is 25p for the cash plus 15p to check your balance, which gets paid to the independent ATM operator.....Read more here