Number of cash withdrawals falls by 6.1%

People made fewer trips to the cash machine last year, new figures have revealed.

According to LINK, people aged 16 and above made 915m cash withdrawals in 2024.

That’s 60m - or 6.1% - less than in 2023.

It means that the average person used an ATM 16 times last year, withdrawing £86 on average each time.

Cash ‘great for budgeting’

Although more people are shopping online or paying by card, three-quarters are using cash at least once a fortnight.

So it’s clear that cash still has a valuable role to play, especially if money is tight.

“For those on low budgets, there’s still no better alternative to managing your finances than using notes and coins,” said director of strategy Graham Mott.

He also pointed out that millions rely on cash because they’re “still not confident, able or can afford to use digital payments”. 

Mr Mott added that if and when systems go down, “as we saw last year during the CrowdStrike IT issues”, then cash can be “the only option”.

People using cash machines less, but withdrawing more money

According to LINK’s data, total cash withdrawals fell in every region of the UK last year, with the biggest drops in Scotland and London.

But notably, the total value of cash withdrawn went up in Wales and the north-east of England.

Northern Ireland, meanwhile, was named the most “cash heavy” part of the UK, with people there taking out an average of £2,274 last year.

This was followed by Yorkshire and the Humber (£1,696) and the north-east (£1,682). 

Get on top of your finances

If you want to prioritise your spending and work out where you can make savings, then we can help you.

We’ve put together a handy guide on creating a budget, along with a free budget planner to get you started. 

We can also help you make sure you’re getting all the benefits you’re entitled to, and advise you on debt solutions if you’re struggling with repayments (some are free, for others there’s a fee).

All of our debt advice is free and impartial, and you can access it online 24/7 or over the phone during our office hours - 0161 518 8285.