Poll: Would you still take cash out if more ATMs started to charge?
Moves to ensure cash machines remain free to use are to be explored by a committee, according to network operator Link.
Members of the Link network have been in talks over how to fund the UK's free-to-use ATM network, which costs around £1 billion per year to run.
More than 70,000 cash machines are connected to the Link network, with 16,000 charging for withdrawals and 54,000 free to use.
Fears have been raised that more cash machines could start charging if arrangements for sharing the cost of operating the network continue to break down.
Pay-to-use machines account for less than three per cent of cash withdrawals.
Following a meeting on Thursday, Link said it had been agreed that a working group of members will "explore a way forward for the sustainability of the Link scheme".
The working group is expected to report back later in the year.
John Howells, chief executive of Link, said: "Link will continue to work closely with its 39 members to keep regulators, government and consumer groups fully informed.
"The Link network continues to operate normally and it's business as usual for consumers at all the UK's 70,000 ATMs."
Andrew Tyrie, chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, recently told The Times that it would have a "considerable" impact on customers, especially poorer ones, if banks started charging for cash withdrawals.
He said: "Were widespread charging to return, the Treasury committee would almost certainly want to investigate.
"The public detriment – especially for the least well-off – could be considerable."
MPs are also concerned about the rising number of bank branch closures in the UK, which have left some communities with little or no over-the-counter services.
Unite the union revealed on Wednesday that Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank will close 79 branches with the loss of more than 400 jobs.
Britain's banking giants have been cutting costs by shutting branches or selling non-core operations after seeing their profit margins eroded by ultra-low interest rates.
A spokesman for Link added: "If any changes occur as a result of these discussions they would not happen overnight and we will make sure customers are kept informed."
