Analysts believe consumers could soon be charged for making ATM withdrawals and writing cheques.

The days of free consumer banking as we know it could be numbered, analysts at Datamonitor have claimed today.

According to the research company, Britons face being charged to use cash machines and write cheques – banking features which are currently free for customers.

Datamonitor also believes that banks could begin charging customers monthly fees for holding a current account. The charges could amount to between £5 and £20 a month, it said.

The system would work in a similar way to consumer banking in the US, where a set monthly fee guarantees a fixed level of service – incorporating cash machine withdrawals, direct debit payments and cheques paid.

Datamonitor’s claims come as the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) continues its investigation into ‘unfair’ banking charges.

OFT is calling for banks to abolish penalty charges against customers who breach their overdraft limit or write cheques which then bounce.

If the OFT wins its case, millions of bank customers will have the right to reclaim billions of pounds in refunds dating back over a period of six years.

This would lead to them needing to shore up their finances by implementing monthly banking charges, Datamonitor said.

Datamonitor analyst, Rod Logan, told the Daily Mail: “A charge per transaction for standard banking services could be one of the answers, as the banks will need to find other ways to reclaim the estimated £2.6 billion they receive from overdraft fees and charges. In the current difficult market this is revenue that the banks can ill-afford to lose.”

By Natasha Piscitelli