Data published by LINK – the UK’s cash access and ATM network – showed that those over the age of 16 made a total of 915 million cash withdrawals last year, 60 million (6.1%) fewer than in 2023.
This works out at approximately 16 trips to the ATM per person, withdrawing an average of £86 each time – a total of £1,424 during the year.
ATMs represent 93% of all cash withdrawals in the UK, ahead of cashback and counter transactions at bank branches, post offices and banking hubs.
Cash use remains popular
Cash and ATM use has fallen significantly since the pandemic, with more people choosing to use contactless and digital payments. However, LINK research shows that about 75% of adults use cash at least once per fortnight.
Its data revealed that people are visiting ATMs less often but are withdrawing more cash when they do visit.
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The study found that every region and nation across the UK saw a fall in total cash withdrawals. This was highest in Scotland and London. Interestingly, the North East of England and Wales saw small increases in the total value of cash withdrawn.
Northern Ireland remains the most cash-heavy part of the UK. In 2024, Northern Irish banking customers withdrew an average of £2,274. The second and third cash-heaviest regions were Yorkshire and the Humber (£1,696) and the North East (£1,682).
ATM use was lowest in the South West, where the average customer withdrew £1,030, followed closely by the South East (£1,096).
Protecting access to cash
LINK’s role is to protect the footprint of the cash access network, ensuring everyone can get the cash they need.
By the end of 2024, there were 5% fewer cash machines than at the end of 2023 (48,401 versus 46,182). Of these, 37,361 are free to use, down from 38,480, and 8,821 are charging ATMs, down from 9,921.
LINK has multiple financial inclusion programmes in place and a statutory obligation to ensure everyone has good, free access to cash.
In 2024, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) introduced new rules to protect access to cash across the UK. These new rules include measures that mean LINK now independently assesses the needs of a location following the closure of a bank branch. Communities can also request LINK to assess their high street if they believe it lacks appropriate cash services.
To date, LINK has recommended 184 banking hubs and more than 100 deposit services to support cash in the community. These are being delivered by Cash Access UK, which opened the 100th banking hub in late 2024.
Graham Mott, LINK’s director of strategy: “Cash usage is falling in line with our own expectations as more people choose to shop online or pay with card. However, cash remains popular for many reasons. Our own research shows that millions still rely on it because they’re still not confident, able or can afford to use digital payments.
“For those on low budgets, there’s still no better alternative to managing your finances than using notes and coins. Notwithstanding, as we saw last year during the CrowdStrike IT issues, if and when systems go down, cash is quite often the only option.”
Shops won’t be forced to accept cash
However, despite LINK’s work to protect access to cash, there are no plans to force shops and other services to accept cash payments.
When questioned on the subject, Emma Reynolds, the Economic Secretary to the Treasury, provided a detailed response to MPs on the Treasury Committee.
She said: “I think we’re saying that businesses should have the flexibility to offer the choice in payments that they think their customers need and that we are not minded or we don’t have any plans to regulate to force business[es] to accept cash. But we do know that there are many businesses who still do.
“As I’ve said, the focus of the Government is on the access to cash regime, which does relate to the acceptance of cash, because if businesses don’t have places to go to deposit cash, that’s when they stop accepting cash.
“We don’t have a plan to go towards a cashless society. Yes, we do want to ensure that we’re at the leading edge of innovation and we do want to combat digital exclusion, but we think there is a role for cash going forward, otherwise we wouldn’t have been committed to the access to cash regime and to 350 banking hubs.”
