A PROPOSED shake-up to the cash machine network could put a greater strain on remote areas, including parts of North Yorkshire, consumer group Which? has claimed.

The consumer group claims changes to the ATM network could lead to mass closures of free-to-use cash machines.

It says it has identified more than 200 communities with poor ATM provision, or no cash machines at all, which is said could be hit hardest by proposals which may reduce the network.

One of the post code districts where it found ATM provision particularly low was YO13 in North Yorkshire, which covers a large area of the North York Moors and coastal areas including Ebberston, Ravenscar, Brompton and Snainton.

Gareth Shaw, Which? money expert, said: "Reducing the free-to-use ATM network would hit consumers who rely on access to cash machines hard.

"These proposals could place a strain on communities across the UK that are already struggling to access the cash they need following mass bank closures.

"The financial regulator must intervene to avoid this situation getting worse."

The row centres around interchange fees - which fund the free-to-use ATM network. These interchange fees are paid by card issuers such as banks and building societies to ATM operators.

Consultation plans previously outlined by Link include a reduction in interchange rates over the next four years, from around 25p to 20p per withdrawal. Link's independent board has previously said that it will protect all free-to-use ATMs which are a kilometre or more from the next nearest free-to-use ATM.

MP for Scarborough and Whitby, Robert Goodwill said the move was also an inevitable result of society's changing spending habits and the use of contactless cards.

“One of the problems seems to be fewer and fewer people are having to access their branch, but also a lot of younger people now just use contactless cards for quite small transactions," he said.

“Places like coffee shops are encouraging people to use their contactless cards because they have costs associated in dealing with cash.

“But it is a concern because people do need cash, particularly older people who may not be using online banking or contactless cards. There’s still a number of transactions where people do need to have cash but this is in many ways a sign of the times.”

He said many countries were already progressing much faster in moving to a cashless society, including Africa, where people are moving quickly to banking solely on their mobile phones and in China, where technology has already been introduced which allows people to pay by having their face scanned.

Cash machine network Link said it would review the areas identified by Which? and take action if there is found to be inadequate free ATM provision. It said the UK has one of the largest free-to-use ATM networks globally.