Latest news with #cashaccess
Daily Mail
42 minutes ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
The major sacrifice Aussies will need to make if they want to keep using cash
Australians may have to go back to paying fees again for using rival bank ATMs like they did a decade ago if they want to keep having access to cash, a finance expert says. The Big Four banks in 2017 agreed to scrap those $2 fees for customers who used the automatic teller machines of a competitor. While it was regarded as good news, that policy is threatening the future of cash in Australia with very few consumers now using banknotes to pay for everyday goods and services. Australia's key cash-in-transit company Armaguard, owned by billionaire transport magnate Lindsay Fox's family, needs $50million a year in handouts to survive and now federal regulators are proposing Australia have a new minister for cash. In just seven years, the number of ATMs have more than halved, plunging from 13,814 in June 2017 to just 5,476 in June last year, Australian Prudential Regulation Authority data showed. The Commonwealth Bank, Westpac, NAB and ANZ used the abolition of rival ATM fees to take away those cash dispensing machines and squeeze Australia's cash-in-transit companies during contractual negotiations. This has made distributing cash unprofitable with the Big Four banks, supermarket giant Woolworths and retail group Wesfarmers - the owner of hardware chain Bunnings, Kmart and Officeworks - last week announcing they would provide a $25.5million lifeline to Armaguard from July to December. 'Major banks and major retailers have reached an agreement with Armaguard to extend their financial contribution for a further six months,' the Australian Banking Association said. Armaguard needs to be subsidised to the tune of $50million a year despite having a 90 per cent share of Australia's cash-in-transit market, with the Reserve Bank estimating cash now makes up just 13 per cent of in-person transactions. Jason Bryce, the founder of Cash Is Welcome, said Armaguard wouldn't need to be subsidised by the banks and the supermarkets if those old fees for using rival ATMs still existed - and generated $500million a year in revenue. 'I think it was a bad, short-sighted move - I don't want to prescribe the answers - but the problems date from that decision,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'There's no doubt the $2 ATM fee for customers of other banks kept the cash distribution system paid for and viable in Australia - since 2017, since that decision, the cash industry has contracted and been under pressure. 'There needs to be some kind of structural change to provide support, go forward, to cover the $50million-odd per year that Armaguard is now getting. 'There should be no need for $50million a year - the problem has been created by the banks and the supermarkets.' Mr Bryce said the abolition of those rival ATM fees had led to the big banks putting extra pressure cash deliverers, to the point that Spanish group Prosegur in 2023 merged with Armaguard to survive. 'The two big companies have merged into one and that one company is on the verge of bankruptcy,' he said. Peter Fox, the executive chairman of Armaguard, told The Australian Financial Review its 'shortfall in revenue' was 'caused by the four major banks and two retailers which slashed their margins to Armaguard in a period of cut-throat competition'. Commonwealth Bank chief executive Matt Comyn last year admitted the banks were 'very, very aggressive' towards Armaguard. 'The banks drove Armaguard to the brink of bankruptcy,' Mr Bryce said. 'Matt Comyn says the banks underpaid Armaguard for cash-in-transit.' 'It's really up to the banks to pay more. 'So banks now don't really have much of a leg to stand on when they complain about handing over $25million for six months.' The disappearance of major bank ATMs saw the appearance of third-party ATMs that charge $3 fees for use. 'There's less bank-owned ATMs and there's more third-party ATMs that charge $3 or so,' Mr Bryce said. The Council of Financial Regulators - which includes the RBA - and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is proposing a new federal minister in charge of cash distribution who would have oversight over a registered entity that would 'provide critical cash services to a significant part of the market'. 'Despite the rise of digital payments, cash remains vital for many Australians, particularly in regional and remote communities,' it said in a consultation paper. 'Cash supports secure, inclusive, and resilient transactions for those who prefer or rely on it.' The federal government last year announced a cash mandate would be coming into force on January 1, 2026 requiring businesses to offer customers a cash option.
BBC News
2 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Houghton-le-Spring banking hub plan to boost cash access
A new banking hub to ensure everyone has access to cash is planned for a County Durham proposed facility would be in an empty retail unit on Newbottle Street in hubs are a shared space where customers of any bank can withdraw or deposit cash, pay bills, and make other City Council's planning department is expected to reach a decision by early September. The Local Democracy Reporting Service said Cash Access UK had applied for planning permission to convert the "existing vacant unit into a retail banking hub with internal and external alterations", including a "new ATM machine".If approved it would operate under the Post Office Banking Hub brand, with counter service operated by Post Office from different banks would work on different days on a rotating addition, it was noted there would be "private spaces where customers can speak to community bankers from their own bank for more complicated matters that require specialist knowledge or privacy". A statement on the Post Office website notes the wider banking hubs initiative recognises "how important in-person banking still is for many people".The statement added: "Soon, you'll be able to access personal and business banking services, pay bills and get help from community bankers, all in person." Follow BBC Sunderland on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NCR Atleos Partners to Expand Cash Access in Greece
NCR Atleos Corporation (NYSE:NATL) is one of the best new tech stocks with huge upside potential. On July 1, NCR Atleos Corporation announced a partnership with DirectPay and iXchange to expand cash access for consumers in Greece. DirectPay and iXchange are both part of the same group and will use Atleos' owned and operated ATM platform, which is known as the Cashzone Network, to provide convenient and secure cash access. DirectPay is a financial and payment services provider in Greece that operates 1,300+ agent locations. The company's services include MoneyGram money transfers, bill payments, cash-to-bank deposits, and other financial services. iXchange offers foreign currency exchange, money transfers, and bill payment services. A modern corporate finance office, full of financial analysts at work. This expansion addresses a specific need in Greece, as the European Central Bank/ECB's '2024 SPACE' consumer payment behavior study indicates that Greek consumers rely on ATMs for cash more than any other channel or Eurozone country, yet face challenges in accessing cash. NCR Atleos Corporation (NYSE:NATL) is a financial technology company that provides self-directed banking solutions to financial institutions, merchants, manufacturers, retailers, and consumers. While we acknowledge the potential of NATL as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the . READ NEXT: and . Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NCR Atleos Partners to Expand Cash Access in Greece
NCR Atleos Corporation (NYSE:NATL) is one of the best new tech stocks with huge upside potential. On July 1, NCR Atleos Corporation announced a partnership with DirectPay and iXchange to expand cash access for consumers in Greece. DirectPay and iXchange are both part of the same group and will use Atleos' owned and operated ATM platform, which is known as the Cashzone Network, to provide convenient and secure cash access. DirectPay is a financial and payment services provider in Greece that operates 1,300+ agent locations. The company's services include MoneyGram money transfers, bill payments, cash-to-bank deposits, and other financial services. iXchange offers foreign currency exchange, money transfers, and bill payment services. A modern corporate finance office, full of financial analysts at work. This expansion addresses a specific need in Greece, as the European Central Bank/ECB's '2024 SPACE' consumer payment behavior study indicates that Greek consumers rely on ATMs for cash more than any other channel or Eurozone country, yet face challenges in accessing cash. NCR Atleos Corporation (NYSE:NATL) is a financial technology company that provides self-directed banking solutions to financial institutions, merchants, manufacturers, retailers, and consumers. While we acknowledge the potential of NATL as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the . READ NEXT: and . Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
BBC News
09-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
New hub opens after closure of Wick's last bank
A banking hub has opened in Wick following the closure of the town's last organisation Cash Access UK is running the services from premises in Bridge Bank of Scotland branch shut last month. Since 2018, the town lost its Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Clydesdale Bank, TSB and Virgin Access UK is funded by major UK banks and has a network of hubs across the country. Wick's hub has opened in the town's former RBS building, and is the most northerly of Cash Access UK's has a counter service run by the Post from three banks will make visits to meet customers, with TSB on Tuesdays, RBS on Wednesdays and Bank of Scotland on premises also has a cash Access UK chief executive Gareth Oakley said: "I'm happy to announce the opening of our Wick hub, ensuring crucial access to cash and face-to-face banking services for residents and businesses across the community. "Customers can visit on any day of the week for their everyday banking transactions, and if you have a specific or more complex inquiry for your bank, a community banker will be there to help on the day they're in the hub."Caithness and Sutherland MP Jamie Stone welcomed the opening of the new hub, and said many customers still wanted face-to-face contact with bank Scotland, Cash Access UK also has sites in Turriff in Aberdeenshire, Kirkcudbright in Dumfries and Galloway and Troon in South Ayrshire.
