Survey results published by UK ATM network operator Link have shown that cash machine users pay more attention to on-screen warnings than stickers on the outside of machines. However, the study also revealed that some users fail to notice all three or more warnings required by Link rules.
The survey showed that, although some charging cash machine customers did recognize the machine charged from the compulsory label on the outside of the machine, four times as many people recognized the cash machine charged because of the warning they saw on the screen before starting the transaction. One-in-six to one-in-seven users could not, however, recall any warning even after confirming acceptance of the charge.
One lesson from this survey is that people are much more likely to read the up-front warnings on the screen than to notice stickers on the outside of the machine, noted Edwin Latter, Link ATM scheme director. This suggests that, as the next step in its work on transparency of charges, Link should look at clearer and larger standardized warnings on the screen, rather than concentrating on more external stickers.
The survey also showed that, no matter how many signs are put up, a number of people do not notice or are not interested in the warnings. Every charging cash machine in Britain asks the user specifically to confirm acceptance of the charge before completing the transaction. While the majority of people surveyed immediately after completing the transaction remembered this or the upfront warning, in some quick-stop locations, such as petrol stations, over half of people could not remember the warning even just a few moments after telling the machine they accepted the charge.
This was particularly true for men, while women demonstrated they had read the instructions more carefully.