Tuesday 19th December 2006
People withdrawing funds from current accounts and instant access savings accounts at surcharging cash machines could face fees totalling £16.4 million, according to Sainsburys Bank.
While 96 per cent of withdrawals are made at free-to-use automated teller machines (ATMs), up to 44 per cent of machines now charge for transactions.
Sainsburys Bank warned that extra vigilance may be required to avoid accidentally using one of these machines.
Alex Blake, head of ATMs at Sainsburys Bank, said: "With so many more surcharging cash machines around, we all need to pay greater attention before we start our ATM transactions this Christmas."
"We are committed to not charging people for withdrawing their money from our machines," he added.
Mr Blake noted that the number of free-to-use ATMs provided by Sainsburys Bank has increased by about 19 per cent in the past 12 months to over 900.
Sainsburys Bank says it has about 1.5 million active customers and is owned primarily by the supermarket chain, with a 44 per cent stake belonging to Halifax Bank of Scotland.
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