Contrasting results

Reuters reports that after banning ATM fees at bank-operated machines nearly a decade ago, the UK has now managed to push non-bank ATM operators to provide hundreds of free banking machines in poor and underserved areas:

More than a million Britons in low-income areas are set to benefit from banks and cash-machine operators installing almost 500 non-charging machines this year, the British government said yesterday. Banks and machine operators agreed with the government in December to install 600 free machines, 471 of which should be in place by the end of the year to improve access to financial services for poor and rural communities, the government said.

In related news, Jim Flaherty is seriously considering another feeble media appearance to suggest that Canadian banks could consider doing something to reduce ATM fees on their own, lest he be forced to hint at the issue again. Which in turn is expected to result in Flaherty once again being laughed out of the building.