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LONDON - Britain's banks, Government and cash machine operators have struck a deal to provide over 600 new non-charging cash machines in poor and rural communities.
The ATM Working Group said the deal would make it easier for poorer segments of society to access bank accounts as cheaply as possible.
Under the deal banks and building societies will pay a premium to other banks and cash machine operators to set up and maintain ATMs at the new sites, to compensate them for running a machine in lower use areas.
"This financial inclusion premium is the first example of such an innovative approach anywhere in the world," said John McFall, Labour MP and head of the ATM Working Group.
- REUTERS
