Charges for Cash
Charges for cash
Most cash withdrawals and cash deposits across the LINK network are free to use for cardholders using a debit card issued by one of our Members but sometimes you may be charged.
When might I be charged
You may be charged to withdraw cash at an ATM or cash at the till location "Terminal" in the following circumstances:
- If the Terminal is operated by one of our Members and it indicates you will be charged. Operator withdrawal charges will be clearly displayed on the Terminal or by the retailer offering cash at the till. The LINK Cash Locator will display operator withdrawal charges at relevant Terminals.
- If you have a card issued by one of our Members your card issuer may charge you to withdraw cash at Terminals. Issuer charges are not indicated on the LINK Cash Locator, you should contact your card issuer for details on where these charges will apply.
- If you have a card issued by a bank or financial institution that is not one of our Members you may be charged to withdraw cash at the Terminal. These charges are not displayed on the LINK Cash Locator, you should contact your card issuer for details on where these charges will apply.
Fair Rules on Charging
LINK allows charges to be applied to withdraw cash across the LINK network. Government and Parliament have recognised that chargeable as well as free access to cash can benefit the public and local businesses alike.
LINK does not itself apply any charges on cardholders to withdraw or deposit cash, and does not set the level of any charges. LINK does require all ATM or cash at the till operators and card issuers to follow certain rules on charging, and the transparency of charging.
LINK rules on charging for cash withdrawals at ATMs and cash at the till terminals "Terminal" on the LINK network:
- an issuer charge and an operator charge (double charging) cannot be applied to the same LINK cash withdrawal;
- require an on-screen message stating when an operator charge will be applied;
- require that where a card issuer applies a charge, then this will be displayed on-screen, specifying the amount of the charge; and
- require cardholder acceptance of the specific charge and offer cardholders the option to cancel the transaction without incurring operator or issuer charge;
- require external signage at Terminals stating that the machine will charge you to withdraw cash;
- require that when operators provide signage pointing towards Terminals, this must carry a notice saying that there will be a charge to withdraw cash.
The LINK Scheme seeks to maintain and enforces these rules, including by undertaking regular surveys of ATM and cash at the till location signage. If you see a Terminal that does not comply with these rules, please contact us.
Frequently asked questions
Please contact LINK using the contact us form.
Contact your bank or building society as you are their customer and only they have all the details of your account. They can check your account and if necessary, contact the LINK ATM operator.
You will need to tell them:
- Where the cash machine is.
- The date & time of the withdrawal.
- The amount of cash you tried to withdraw.
- The amount of cash you received (if any).
In most cases, a LINK ATM will wait a few seconds and then retract the cash and your account will be re-credited. If this hasn’t happened, you should contact your bank or building society. They can check your account and, if necessary, contact the LINK ATM operator.
You will need to tell them:
- Where the cash machine is.
- The date & time you tried to use the cash machine.
- The amount of cash you tried to withdraw.
If you are a member of the public or represent a local community and want to request a cash machine for your area, click here.
You should contact your bank or building society as soon as possible to sort out a replacement. For security reasons it isn't possible to open a cash machine to get your card back.
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