Skip to main content
BBC NEWS / BUSINESS
Graphics VersionBBC Sport Home
News Front Page | Africa | Americas | Asia-Pacific | Europe | Middle East | South Asia | UK | Business | Health | Science & Environment | Technology | Entertainment | Also in the news | Have Your Say |
Business Contents:  Your Money | Economy Companies

Tuesday, 6 March 2007, 10:22 GMT

ATM to offer downloads and games

Max Box in operation A cash machine that allows consumers to download music, print photos and top up their mobile phone is being launched.

The Max Box, which has been developed by Felix Group and is distributed by Bank Machine, will also allow users to download games and mobile ring tones.

The Max Box is a free standing, broadband kiosk and is likely to be located in garage forecourts, shopping centres and convenience stores.

Bank Machine has 1,400 UK ATMs, most of which charge for withdrawing cash.

Some ATMs operated by High Street banks allow customers to top-up their mobile phones but the Max Box is believed to offer the greatest number of non-cash services.

Customers using the Max Box will be expected to pay a fee for non-cash services. However, the level of charges is not yet known.

Max Box machines will start to appear in the spring.

Controversy

Bank machine, a division of US firm Cardtronic, is one of the main operators of fee-charging ATMs in the UK.

Fee-charging cash machines have courted controversy, with charities and consumer groups arguing that they penalise the poor.

The suggestion has been that traditional free-to-use ATMs, operated by High Street banks, have been shut in some poorer areas of the UK and been replaced by fee-charging machines.

Just under half of the UK's 58,000 cash machines charge an average of £1.50 for a withdrawal.

The rate of spread of charging cash machines has been phenomenal in recent years. Six years ago there were only a handful of charging machines.




E-mail this to a friend
Related to this story:
Bank pledges to install free ATMs (27 Jul 06 |  Business )
Q&A: Cash machine charges (28 Jul 06 |  Business )
UK 'risks' US-style bank charges (21 Mar 05 |  Business )
Post Office ATMs cost users £10m (10 Feb 05 |  Business )
Probe into cash machine charges (05 Nov 04 |  Business )

RELATED INTERNET LINKS
Felix Corp
Bank Machine
Citizens Advice
Link
Which?
National Consumer Council (NCC)
Association for Payment Clearing Services (Apacs)
Treasury Select Committee
Cardtronic
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites



SEARCH BBC NEWS: 

News Front Page | Africa | Americas | Asia-Pacific | Europe | Middle East | South Asia | UK | Business | Health | Science & Environment | Technology | Entertainment | Also in the news | Have Your Say |
Business Contents:  Your Money | Economy Companies

NewsWatch | Notes | Contact us | About BBC News | Profiles | History

^ Back to top | BBC Sport Home | BBC Homepage | Contact us | Help | ©