Impact of ATM closures on towns and communities

ATMs have become a very familair feature and convenience of daily life over the course of their 50 year span.  Recent proposals by the main network responsible for their operation (Link) to chnage the paying fee structure prompted fears that the network might shrink, particularly in poorer areas, or that there would be fewer free to use ATMs.  Although the proposals were changed in part in response to the reaction they aroused, they brought attention to the role of ATMs in the future – a future where cash might play a significntly less important role than it does now.