Cash withdrawals are down at least 20 per cent on pre-pandemic levels across every UK Parliamentary constituency meaning consumers are withdrawing almost £100m less each day compared to figures from 2019.
Before the pandemic, each adult in the UK visited a cash machine on average three times a month. However, 18 months after the Coronavirus pandemic started, it is now less than two times a month with customers now taking out on average an extra £10 each visit. The average withdrawal was £66.99, and is now £78.54.
While the numbers show an overall decline in cash withdrawals both in terms of the number of transactions and amount withdrawn, recent figures from the Financial Conduct Authority’s Financial Lives 2020 survey shows over five million people greatly rely on cash every day. Indeed, while some wealthier constituencies have shown a fall in cash machine use by as much as 60 per cent, there is a greater reliance on cash in deprived areas.
LINK has committed to protect cash access for as long as it is required. This year, it has heard from over 400 communities who wanted better cash access, and has now installed over 70 ATMs across the country in response to those requests, and a further 30 in areas which were identified as lacking cash access. It has this week launched an advertising campaign featuring some of the strangest place names in the country to encourage people to speak up if they find it difficult to access cash free of charge. You can request access to cash here.
Nick Quin, Head of Financial Inclusion, LINK: “People are choosing new ways to pay for things, and COVID has turbocharged the switch to digital.
When we conducted similar analysis this time last year, we had an incomplete picture because before the vaccine rollout people generally were staying local, working from home and many leisure locations were still temporarily closed. ATM use in some city centres had declined by as much as 80% overnight. Now that life is returning to normal, people are still visiting ATMs much less often and taking out more each time.
Crucially, even though we’re withdrawing almost £100m less per day, millions still rely on cash, especially in the most deprived areas of the country. It is important we continue to protect access to cash across the country.”
The top ten UK constituencies that have seen the smallest and greatest declines in cash are:
|
Constituency |
ATM use decline (%) |
Constituency |
ATM use decline (%) |
|
Liverpool Walton |
20% |
Edinburgh East |
63% |
|
Bradford South |
20% |
Cities of London and Westminster |
60% |
|
Birmingham, Hodge Hill |
20% |
Edinburgh North and Leith |
60% |
|
Leicester East |
21% |
Holborn and St. Pancras |
58% |
|
Bradford East |
22% |
Edinburgh South |
56% |
|
Boston and Skegness |
23% |
Glasgow Central |
56% |
|
Birmingham, Perry Barr |
23% |
Edinburgh West |
56% |
|
Warley |
24% |
Crawley |
55% |
|
Cynon Valley |
25% |
Belfast South |
54% |
|
Rochdale |
25% |
Bristol West |
53% |
Historically, parts of London have been ahead of the curve in adopting and using alternative payment methods such as contactless cards or mobile payments. However, across the regions, the analysis shows that, while some areas have seen a steeper drop in withdrawals compared to others, overall, it is a very similar picture.
|
Region |
Change in number of withdrawals (%) |
Change in average value withdrawn |
Change in amount withdrawn per day |
|
East Midlands |
-38% |
+£10 |
- £6.5m |
|
East of England |
-39% |
+£10 |
- £8.3m |
|
London |
-40% |
+£14 |
- £13.4m |
|
North East |
-35% |
+£8 |
- £3.9m |
|
North West |
-35% |
+£9 |
- £10.6m |
|
Northern Ireland |
-38% |
+£14 |
- £3.1m |
|
Scotland |
-43% |
+£9 |
- £11.4m |
|
South East |
-41% |
+£10 |
- £12.2m |
|
South West |
-43% |
+£8 |
- £8.2m |
|
Wales |
-37% |
+£8 |
- £4.4m |
|
West Midlands |
-35% |
+£10 |
- £7.5m |
|
Yorkshire & The Humber |
-36% |
+£9 |
- £8.3m |
The number of ATMs has not dropped as quickly as cash usage. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the number of free-to-use ATMs has declined from 45,000 to 41,000 (9 per cent). Some 94 per cent of cash withdrawals take place at ATMs.
---
All data compared August 2019 with August 2021
Constituency level breakdown available on request
