Barclays backs down on charges

By THIS IS MONEY
Updated:

 

Barclays has backed down on its plans to charge other banks' customers using their cashpoint machines - for the moment at least.

The move came at a meeting of the board of the Link organisation which runs 26,000 cash machines, which are open to anyone.

Barclays' plans for widespread surcharging were vigorously opposed by Link member Nationwide Building Society, which has around 1,100 cash machines, and Nationwide threatened legal action if they went ahead.

Barclays backed down but demanded a review of the present system leading to today's meeting.

This latest uneasy compromise comes a fortnight after Trade and Industry Secretary Stephen Byers wrote to banks and building societies demanding greater transparency over charges.

A Nationwide spokesman said: 'Barclays' actions are unilateral and patently unfair. We don't charge their customers for using our machines so why should they charge our customers for using theirs? They are ignoring the commercial reality that if they start surcharging, everyone else will almost certainly follow suit and it will be the consumer yet again who loses out.'

The spokesman added: 'Our concern is that in remote areas there may only be one cashpoint and Barclays' system would not take into account such local factors.'

Another option discussed at today's meeting would be only to surcharge customers using cash machines in 'convenience locations' such as pubs. The third option would be to increase fees paid to machine owners to ensure that those owning larger networks would earn greater amounts from their machines.

Barclays owns 3,200 cash machines compared with Nationwide's 1,100 and is determined to turn its network into a profitable part of its business to compete with new online banks such as Egg.

However, a spokesperson for the Banking Insurance and Finance Union pointed out that any costs associated with increasing the cash machine network should be seen in the light of widespread redundancies among the bank's employees, referring to the fact that increased automated banking meant lower staffing costs.

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