The UK's Office of Fair Trading (OFT) is calling for changes to the governance of cash machine network operator Link to give businesses and consumers more say in decision-making at the company.
The OFT-chaired Payment Systems Task Force has been investigating the access and governance at Link since 2004, looking in particular at competition, innovation and efficiency.
Amongst the findings, the group has concluded that the ownership of the company should be opened up to new bodies - not restricted to banks and building societies as is currently the case - and has put forward a number of recommendations, including the establishment of a smaller, more effective board that includes independent directors.
The watch dog says Link should also continue with plans to introduce a standing committee on consumer issues. Jonathan May, OFT director of markets and policy initiatives and chairman of the task force, says: "The standing committee that the Link card scheme is establishing will allow the scheme and its members to work directly with consumer representatives to address issues of interest to users of the Link network."
In a statement, Link says it welcomes the Working Group's input into its governance reform process. Edwin Latter, director of the LINK ATM Scheme, says the OFT, the Treasury and other Task Force participants have endorsed its plans to include direct consumer representation in the scheme's governance, which will allow consumers to contribute directly to work to improve transparency of charges at cash machines.
Following calls from the OFT, Link says it has also volunteered to look at commercially-viable ways of increasing the number of bank account holders who can make free cash withdrawals over Post Office counters.
The Task Force says it will be monitoring progress against the recommendations and Link will report to the body in twelve months.
Read the Link Access and Governance Report here:
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