NoteMachine is concerned about recent moves by businesses to only accept card payments as it will severely impact those most vulnerable. Many of these people are currently self-isolating and rely on neighbours, friends and families to do their food shopping for them which needs to be done with cash.
Removing this payment method at such a critical time would be a devastating blow to many people. It is essential that supermarkets, pharmacies, convenience stores, take-aways and all other businesses continue to accept both cash and card payments as another vital way we can work together to support the most vulnerable in our communities.
Find out moreKeeping our ATM sites running is paramount to the country and we have CIT operatives filling the ATMs, engineers servicing them, our helpdesk managing calls from the public as well as all the other departments that support them and the business.
Now at a time when bank branches have shut, people are relying on cash to budget and others are helping the most vulnerable to ensure they have food and groceries; NoteMachine staff continue to keep the ATM network available to all.
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NoteMachine is concerned about recent moves by businesses to only accept card payments as it will severely impact those most vulnerable..
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A NoteMachine ATM gives your customers a reason to keep coming back to your business and spending more.
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We work with many high street banks and building societies, offering all-in-one management solutions for their ATM networks, whether remote or in-branch. We’re proud of the reputation we’ve built for integrity and exceptional service.
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21,000,000,000
Transactions in the last 12 months
11,000
Cash machines and growing
27,000,000
People using our ATMs every month
NoteMachine has been successful in acquiring non-branch ATM networks from a number of high street banks and building societies. We would welcome the opportunity to acquire further ATM estates.
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By Victoria Bischoff for The Daily MailThere is no doubt that the most hygienic way to pay for something is with a tap of a contactless card.But if you're spending more than the £45 contactless limit, you either have to use a grubby card machine, or hand over cash.Yet despite both options posing a similar health risk for those who do not wash their hands regularly, it is only cash that is being demonised as a possible means of catching coronavirus.As we reveal, this scaremongering is troubling, with more and more shops up and down the country ditching coins and notes altogether.Britain is nowhere near ready to go cashless. We have been told time and again that if we do not act now to protect cash, we will leave millions of elderly, vulnerable people and rural dwellers behind. And while technology can be brilliant, it is also temperamental.When the Visa payment system crashed in June 2018, thousands were left stranded at supermarket checkouts unable to use their cards. That day should have served as a wake-up call for the powers that be over the chaos we'd face if there was a more serious system failure, and we didn't have cash as an alternative payment method.With bank branches closing at a record pace, many small business owners have already had to ditch cash because it is too costly and time-consuming to travel miles each day to deposit takings.If more businesses follow suit due to the pandemic, banks will have yet another excuse to shut even more branches and cash machines — which would be devastating for the many who rely on them for everyday banking. In his March Budget, Chancellor Rishi Sunak pledged to introduce new laws to protect cash, and it is vital he acts on this promise.If he waits until the coronavirus threat has passed, we could find that cash has already been thrown on the scrapheap — hastened to its demise by pressure from firms who stand to benefit financially if we all switch to cards.Ministers have said throughout the current crisis that we should be guided by the science.Well, the experts say that if we all wash our hands regularly, touching cash is no riskier than touching any other hard surface, such as a shopping basket. So let's take heed and refuse to allow corona-phobia to kill off our cash.Flying the flagMoney Mail has repeatedly highlighted how travel firms are refusing to refund holidaymakers for cancelled trips.But one airline and package holiday provider is emerging as something of a hero amid the chaos.One reader, Mike, described Jet2 as 'a beacon of light'. He said that after requesting a refund for a cancelled trip, there was no pressure to take a voucher. The money was back in his bank account within six days — two weeks before his planned departure date.Another reader, Nigel, said he received his money back for a cancelled city break within just 48 hours. And Anne, who also received a swift refund for her cancelled flight to Cyprus, said: 'Jet2 has been brilliant and deserves huge recognition for going above and beyond.' Perhaps other travel firms should take note that all of these readers said the excellent service they had received at such a difficult time meant they would most certainly be using Jet2 for future holidays.Delivery horrorOver the past few weeks we have exposed how vulnerable families are going weeks without vital supplies, with many forced to stay up into the small hours to get a supermarket delivery slot.The response to our investigation was one of the biggest we've seen in recent memory, so thank you.We have now sent a dossier of hundreds of your emails (with personal details removed) to the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, to be considered as part of its inquiry into food supply during the pandemic. We will update you as soon as it publishes its findings.In the meantime, good luck with the vital business of getting some food in your fridge.See the original article on VICTORIA BISCHOFF: We can't afford to lose cash, as grubby card machines pose a similar risk to coins and notes
Find out moreMerril Boulton · 14 April, 2020The Chancellor Rishi Sunak has been urged to ensure all ATMs operate as 'free to use' during the COVID-19 lockdown, in a collaborative letter involving the Petrol Retailers' Association.“Never has the widespread availability of cash been so important, particularly that which is free to access,” said Brian Madderson, chairman of the PRA which has contributed to and signed a letter to the Chancellor alongside Positive Money, Rural Services Network, Responsible Finance, and Note Machine, in order to encourage the Treasury to put access to cash legislation as an immediate priority."The PRA have previously written to the Chancellor regarding this issue, leading to the announcement during the March Budget of access to cash legislation being brought forward, but the collaborative group have said that there is not the time to wait for this to happen, and the Government must act immediately.They are asking for the Government to reverse the cuts made to the interchange fee paid by banks to ATM providers for cash withdrawals for the duration of the COVID-19 crisis, as without this, ATM providers will have to stop their delivery operations, closing a majority of their machines and switching the remaining ones to pay to use. The coronavirus outbreak has further impacted ATM infrastructure, as the providers have seen revenues cut in half over the last two weeks due to the lockdown.Madderson continued: “Hundreds of thousands of vulnerable people depend on cash for their daily lives, such as for food that is being delivered for them, so making this service free to access is essential for minimising the impact of COVID-19 on them and their communities.”See the original article on Forecourt Trader
Find out moreKenza Bryan - The Times The use of cash has halved in the past week, as customers switch to shopping online and abandon coins and notes over hygiene fears.The World Health Organisation has said that handling cash does not pose more of a health risk than touching any other surface, but campaigners believe that the coronavirus crisis will change our habits, leading to a sharp reduction in the use and availability of cash even after the danger of getting ill recedes.Before most businesses shut down, “card only” signs were popping up in pubs and shops all over the UK. Chains including Costa Coffee, which has 2,500 stores, had stopped accepting cash.Many shoppers have also rejected card payments in favour of Google and Apple Pay transactions on mobile phones. The limit on contactless transactions will increase from £30 to £45 next month in recognition of fears about how physical payment methods could increase the rate of viral transmission.Keeping the nation in cash at a time of crisis is a challenge, particularly in smaller, remote communities where cash use is still high.Natalie Ceeney is the head of the Access to Cash campaign, which is pushing for banks to be made legally responsible for ensuring that customers can take cash out even if they live in remote locations. “The people who need and use cash most are generally the most vulnerable: the old, but also the poor,” she says. “I know some shops are nervous about handling notes, but they should be careful about refusing cash because some people will depend on it. The reality is that handling anything is a risk, whether it’s a plastic bag or a piece of paper.”She believes that up to 30 per cent of the UK population could move away from cash payments to card payments because of coronavirus, first temporarily and then as a permanent habit, in a “dramatic shift to digital”.About 1.3 million adults in the UK do not have this option because they have no bank account, according to the Financial Conduct Authority. Others have limited access to the internet, live in areas where few shops are equipped to accept card payments, or have tight budgets, which are easier to manage using cash. These people are likely to struggle if there is a shortage of cash or of businesses who accept it.Sherwood Fired, a pizza van in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, is one of the many businesses that stopped accepting cash in response to the pandemic. In a normal week the owner, David Finn, sells 500 pizzas for £6 to £9 each.Until two weeks ago half of all his sales were in cash. Now, he thinks the vast majority of his customers will continue to pay by card once the coronavirus threat has disappeared.He says: “Once people get the idea that money can be a bit dirty and can be infectious, that idea will stick and they will avoid it.”Finn, 32, shut down his van when the prime minister ordered all restaurants to close, and is now working on setting up a delivery business. He is operating a buy-one-get-one-free deal for NHS staff. Moving to digital payments has had a cost. He pays 1.75 per cent of each transaction to the payment company iZettle, but says that the fee is worth it to avoid losing customers who wish to pay by card.Gareth Shaw, head of money at the consumer group Which?, says: “It’s understandable that some shops may ask customers for card-only payments to reduce the risk of transmitting coronavirus, but we are concerned that this will leave many vulnerable people unable to pay for the basics they need.“The government and retailers need to find a way to ensure that the millions of people who rely on cash, and may not have a bank card, can still pay for essentials during this difficult time.”Peter McNamara, the founder of the ATM operator Note Machine, says that the number of withdrawals at its cash machines halved last week, but the average value of transactions increased from £62 at the start of the month to £74 last week.Note Machine runs more than 11,000 cash machines and distributes roughly £1 in every £5 in circulation. McNamara says: “The availability of cash is critical if you’re going to keep people able to buy food and groceries.”McNamara says that in the worst-case scenario, if half of his workforce had to go into isolation, Note Machine would only be able to fill half of its cash machines at any one time. Cash handlers are classed as key workers.McNamara estimates that 80 per cent of all withdrawals would still be successful, and last week Note Machine dispensed £310 million across its more than 11,000 cash dispensers.Andy Cox is responsible for the stocking of 2,500 Note Machine ATMs in Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Newcastle and Carlisle.Cox, 32, has a list of high-priority cash machines that are vulnerable to running out of cash and has reinforced measures to keep his staff healthy and on the road. “You can’t stop the flow of cash,” he says.“Our biggest fear is losing staff to poor hygiene, so gloves have been made mandatory and the lads all have hand sanitiser.”All 66 drivers, security guards and IT staff who work for Cox are defined as key financial service workers whose work is crucial to keeping the economy going during the coronavirus lockdown.Cox’s 11-year-old stepson, Leon, has to continue going to school, alongside the children of doctors, supermarket staff and local government workers. Needless to say, Leon is not thrilled.https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/will-coronavirus-be-the-death-of-cash-l0wgtkhrq
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