Canada’s policy chair is taking up the chairman role at the firm which runs the UK’s cash machine network
The firm responsible for running the UK's 70,000-strong cash machine network has appointed Canada's policy chair as its new chairman.
Mark Boleat, who will chair the policy and resources committee at Canada Corporation until May and is also deputy chairman of think tank TheCityUK, will join Link Scheme as chairman shortly. He will be taking over from Dr Kenneth Andrew.
Boleat said:
I am delighted to be taking on the role of Link Scheme's chairman at this interesting and challenging time… My goal is to help develop cash access for UK consumers by safeguarding the future of Link. I look forward to leading the board and adding value to the organisation and its stakeholders.
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John Howells, Link's chief executive, added:
Mark brings a wealth of experience and skills to our board and we look forward to working together with him at an important time of development for the nation's ATM network.
Filling the role was no easy task. Link embarked on a six-month professional search process before appointing Boleat.
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Link Scheme, which has 39 members including banks and building societies, has found itself under fire from consumer crusaders in recent weeks to keep withdrawals from cash machines free.
The members have locked horns over the fees they have to pay when cardholders use machines. In particular, they are concerned about interchange fees, which are charged when a bank's customer uses a machine belonging to another lender.
According to Link, the UK's free-to-use cash machine network actually costs £1bn, while less than a quarter of the country's ATMs are pay-to-use.