Quarter of Britons Avoid Outdoor ATMs

April 29, 2011 - PRLog -- A new poll by the UK’s leading discount website has revealed that 24% of Britons avoid using ATMs that are outdoors, with the majority of these citing their concerns about fraudulent devices on exposed cash points as their main reason for doing so.  

www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk conducted the study as part of ongoing research into the attitudes of Britons’ towards ATMs. 1,374 Britons over the age of 18 were subsequently polled and each respondent was asked about their preferences when it came to banking and how they withdraw money.

People taking part in the poll were initially asked, ‘What is your main method of withdrawing cash from your bank account?’ The majority of respondents, 71%, selected ‘ATM,’ whilst 19% claimed to go into their bank and visit a cashier to access their money. 8% of the respondents said getting ‘cashback’ when making a purchase was their main method of withdrawing money, whilst the remaining 2% said ‘other.’

Of those who selected ‘ATM’ as their main method of withdrawing cash from their account, 42% mostly used outdoor cash points, whilst 33% claimed to predominately withdraw money from indoor ATMs. The remaining respondents said they used a mixture of both indoor and outdoor ATMs.

Total respondents were asked, ‘Do you ever actively avoid outdoor ATMs?’ to which 24% said ‘yes.’ When asked to specify why this was the case, the top reasons were as follows:

•   Concerned about fraudulent devices – 47%
•   Fear of being mugged – 21%
•   People in street can see PIN easier – 14%
•   Don’t trust them – 12%
•   Other – 6%  

Of those who selected ‘other’ as their reason for avoiding outdoor ATMs, the majority specified that it was actually the ‘weather’ that made them more inclined to go indoors to withdraw their cash.

Mark Pearson, chairman of http://www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, commented on the findings:

“I think it’s quite surprising that a fair few people avoid outdoor ATMs, but when looking at their reasons why, you really can’t blame them. Cases of bugging on cash points and fraudulent activity involving ATMs have been well documented in the media, so people are more aware of the risks that can be involved.

“Most high street banks have indoor ATMs too and cashiers can quickly withdraw your money for you, so consumers should know that there are other options if they have any concerns about outdoor cash points. At the end of the day, it’s understandable that people worry, as it’s all surrounding their own money and the safety of banking.”

LINK http://www.MyVoucherCodes.co.uk

ENDS

For more information, contact Shannon Haigh of 10 Yetis Public Relations Agency on shannon@10yetis.co.uk or 01452 348211.

Editor’s Notes

Mark Pearson, chairman of MyVoucherCodes is a regular media contributor regarding online shopping and the credit crunch. At 30, his personal worth is more than £30 million. Mark was previously a trainee chef working for Gordon Ramsay at Claridges, London.

Mark appeared as a ‘Secret Millionaire’ in the series on Channel 4, in which he donated £115,000 of his own money to worthy causes.

MyVoucherCodes has had sales exceeding £481m in the last year

Consumer savings on online shopping via MyVoucherCodes.co.uk up from £28m in 2008 to £52m in 2009.

MyVoucherCodes is the UK’s most popular discount site.