Fee-charging ATM operator sees revenues boom

As the financial services industry watches the public's reaction to the rapid growth in the number of fee-charging cash machines, they will not overlook this week?s announcement from independent ATM operator Cardpoint.

In May, the company paid HBOS £75m for 816 of its cash machines - almost all of its ATMs not located inside its branches.

Its decision appears to have been vindicated: Cardpoint is now reporting a 203 per cent increase in its annual turnover, up from £12.2m in its last financial year to £36.8m this year.

The firm charges customers anything up to £1.75 per transaction in return for providing cash machines in more remote locations, such as petrol stations, currently dispenses more than £300m every month.

Even though it has not converted all of HBOS's cash machines to a fee-charging model, a growing number of the machines do now charge, although the company won't comment on how many it will eventually convert.

Along with its revenues, Cardpoint's profitability also soared from just half a million pounds last year to £1.8m this year, as its ATM estate grew to a total of 2,800 machines.

Robin Gregson, finance director at Cardpoint, says the company's results show that people don't mind paying to get access to more cash machines.

'Our customers are happy to pay a modest charge to enable them to withdraw cash from convenient locations,' he said.

For High Street banks, however, cash machines usually represent a necessary expense: customers demand easy access to their cash, but leave banks to foot the bill.

While most already outsource the management and maintenance of their cash machines to third parties to cut costs, the temptation to simply sell it off entirely is always there.

The only risk is the backlash from customers, which is why HBOS's strategy is being watched so carefully.

In September, a report from Nationwide Building Society showed that the number of cash machines that charge for transactions had increased by 40 per cent in the past six months, rising from about 13,000 to about 18,500.

64 per cent of the 5,635 new cash machines installed in the UK last year were charging, growing the number of fee-charging machines to one third of the total.

The report noted that consumers are now paying more than £60m in cash machine charges every year.

In October, Labour MP James Plaskitt sounded the alarm over the rise in the number of fee-charging cash machines in the House of Commons, calling for the industry to adopt a 'clear and enforceable' code of practice for ATM operators.