Nationwide opposes ATM charges

THE NATIONWIDE Building Society is today expected to oppose attempts by Barclays to introduce fresh charges on non-Barclays customers who use its 3,500 cash machines. Barclays claims to have the backing of a number of the larger banks for its move to change the rules of Link, the interbank cash machine network, to allow so-called surcharging of non-customers who use its machines at a meeting of the Link board today.

Nationwide has the support of Co-operative Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland, who do not currently charge their customers for cash withdrawals. However, Barclays is understood to be reasonably confident it can muster sufficient support for its proposals to be accepted at the next-but-one Link meeting in February.

Barclays narrowly avoided being sued by the Nationwide in September over its earlier attempt to impose a pounds 1 charge for non-Barclays customers who use its automatic teller machines