Cash withdrawals jumped for a third consecutive year as people turned to physical money to help budget according to Nationwide.
The typical withdrawal value rose from £106.99 to £112.65 between 2023 and 2024, marking another increase from 2021 when the average amount taken out of machines was £107.23.
Nearly 33million withdrawals were made from 1.26million Nationwide ATMs last year marking a 10 per cent increase on 2023.
The building society said that the recent surge came from customers opting for cash to easier budget in the wake of the pandemic – but also the fact that other cash machines in local areas have been axed.
Before 2022, the number of cash withdrawals at Nationwide ATMs had been declining from its 2014 peak, with the biggest fall coming during the pandemic when withdrawals slumped 40 per cent.
‘The rising cost of living continues to impact people and many are opting to budget with physical money to avoid getting into debt,’ said Otto Benz, Nationwide’s director of payments.
Nationwide said the average amount taken from its ATMs had surged for the third year
The week before Christmas saw the highest demand of cash with £97.9million withdrawn from Nationwide ATMs, a 1.8 per cent increase on 2023 and the highest amount dispensed in a week since before the pandemic.
The week leading up to Black Friday in late November saw a 12 per cent increase to £85.3 million and the second highest weekly withdrawal since pre-Covid.
The biggest increase in cash withdrawals came in Chiswick, West London where demand rose 140 per cent, followed by Shotton, Flintshire (up 115 per cent) and Fakenham, Norfolk (96 per cent).
Other significant increases came in areas where Nationwide is the last bank branch in town, including Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire (95 per cent) and Cupar, Fife (66 per cent).
Nationwide said demand for ATMs had also come at a time when bank branches were closing across the country, with 16 per cent of withdrawals now by non-Nationwide customers.
More than 6,000 bank branches have closed in nine years, at a rate of 53 a month, according to consumer website Which?
Critics of branch closures claim the elderly, vulnerable and those without access to the internet are disproportionately affected.
Benz said: ‘The major banks have closed branches in towns and cities across the country taking away many of the free ATMs that people rely on, which is why the biggest rise in withdrawals comes from non-Nationwide customers.
‘The resurgence of cash shows why we need to continue having a physical presence on the high street, enabling customers to access their money on their terms, whether digitally or in branch.’
It has also led to an increase in consumers using ATMs for other services, including printing mini-statements, paying bills, changing PINs and paying in cash and cheques now making up nearly half of all ATM transactions.
There has also been a 21 per cent increase in the number of times Nationwide ATMs are used to deposit cash, with the average rising 0.5 per cent over five years to £278.
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