By Lois Avery
More £5 notes will soon be available in Britain’s cash machines, a move that has been welcomed by two thirds of Brits.
This comes after the Bank of England said it was keen to get more £5 notes into circulation due to a general shortage of the notes and the poor quality of those that are in use.
Last week, HSBC announced plans to stock £5 notes in a further 210 ATMs, bringing the total number of its cash machines that dispense the notes to nearly 400.
And Lloyds TSB have followed suit saying they intend to increase the number of machines that offer £5 notes.
Younger bankers will be pleased to hear the plans after Lloyds TSB’s research showed that ATM’s with £5 notes were most popular among the 18-24 year old age group.
But over 60 per cent of people said they would find it useful to be able to withdraw £5 notes from Cash point machines.
Gill Sephton, head of ATM strategy and change, Lloyds TSB said: “We are extremely committed to our cash point network and welcome the Bank of England's initiative to increase the number of £5 notes in circulation.
“There has been a steep rise in the use of cash machines over the past two decades and unsurprisingly, 74 per cent of Brits say cash points are their preferred method for withdrawing cash.”
A further eight per cent said they prefer cash-back and an additional eight per cent choose to withdraw money from the cashier in a bank branch.
