Survey of cash machine usage - National

Men and women in the UK have very different attitudes to accessing and carrying cash according to a You Gov survey of 2,300 people commissioned by the LINK, operator of the UK Cash Machine Network.   From the contents of our wallets and purses, to the number of times we visit a cash machine, clear differences exist in how we handle our cash.

When it comes to withdrawing cash from a cash machine, the research brought to light two very distinct groups – ‘feasters’ and ‘nibblers’.  Feasters tend to withdraw £100 plus, once or more per week while nibblers withdraw £20-£30, two or three times per week.

Men are twice as likely to be feasters as women, almost 20% of men compared with 10% of women gorge on their cash.  Men also tend to carry more cash on them with 52% carrying more than £20 in cash compared with only 37% of women.

For women, security is the primary reason for not carrying cash, 40% of those with less than £20 in their purse giving security as the reason.

For those who carry a lot of cash, the 5% of women who carry between £50 and £100 do so in order to avoid making regular trips to a cash machine but of the 12% of men who carry this amount of cash, 72% said they needed the cash to pay for their wife or girlfriend.

However, when it comes to over-spending and running out of cash, men and women  seem to handle the situation in much the same way – 20% of both sexes have visited a cash machine more than three times in one evening, while a third (33%) have borrowed money from their friends.

However, not everyone can remember every visit.  12% of men admit to using a cash machine but being too drunk to remember it, only becoming aware of the transaction when they read their statement; only 4% of women make the same admission.  The worst offenders in this respect are the under 30’s, who are three times as likely to use a cash machine when drunk compared to any other age group.

Edwin Latter, LINK ATM Scheme Director said,
“As operators of the UK’s cash machine network, we are very interested in understanding people’s attitudes to cash and what factors determine their use of cash machines.  The statistics show some very distinct withdrawal patterns between genders.”

-ENDS-

LINK Press Contacts

YouGov Survey
National sample size: 2,300
Fieldwork: 26th - 28th July 2006

Notes to Editors

• In the past five years the number of LINK cash machines has grown from 36,000 to over 58,000 today and of these, over 33,000 are free to use, an all-time high.
• Around 96% of all cash withdrawals are free of charge.  A further 4% of cash withdrawals are made at charging machines, usually in convenience or remote locations where it would not be economic to run a free machine.  
• The value of free-of-charge LINK cash withdrawals has increased steadily year-on-year from around £3.7 billion per month in 2002 to over £7.7 billion per month today, as customers have become increasingly aware that the LINK Network means they can use for free any machine that does not display explicit warnings of charges.
• Since last summer, all machines which charge must carry three clear warnings of charges that customers who prefer not to pay should look out for, (1) on the outside of the machine, (2) on the initial screen as they approach the ATM, and (3) before they complete the transaction.