On 29 July 2024, the Payment Systems Regulator (PSR) published its second Annual Review of Specific Direction 12 (SD12), which was designed to ensure LINK continues to maintain a broad geographic spread of free-to-use ATMs.
SD12 was issued to LINK in March 2022, replacing previous Specific Directions that had been in place since October 2018. The PSR’s second review of SD12 was assessed in the context of how SD12 would work alongside changes to the cash access regulatory landscape introduced in the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA) 2023, and the Financial Conduct Authority’s (FCA) new cash access rules.
The PSR has concluded that, as the FCA’s regulations are more comprehensive in protecting access to cash across all channels, SD12 should be retired when it expires in January 2025. Although SD12 was found to be working well, the PSR considers that the decision not to renew it will reduce regulatory burden and ensure the cash access regulatory framework is clearer and more streamlined.