Northern Ireland remains the most “cash heavy” part of the UK

Wednesday, 29 January 2025 08:11

People here withdrew £2,274 on average last year

By Vicky Shaw (PA)

People made 16 trips to cash machines on average last year, according to data from ATM and cash access network Link.

Some £79.5 billion was withdrawn from ATMs connected up to Link’s network in 2024, which was a 1.2% decrease compared with 2023.

Across the UK, people over the age of 16 made 915 million cash withdrawals last year – 60 million fewer or a 6.1% reduction compared with 2023.

Link said this works out at around 16 trips to the ATM per person, withdrawing just under £90 each time typically.

The network has seen a trend towards people visiting ATMs less often but withdrawing more cash when they do visit.

Northern Ireland remains the most “cash heavy” part of the UK, with people there withdrawing £2,274 on average last year, Link said.

The second and third heaviest regions were Yorkshire and the Humber (£1,696 withdrawn last year on average) and the North East of England (£1,682).

Yorkshire and the Humber was also the only region where the average amount withdrawn increased annually, rising from £1,658 in 2023.

ATM use was lowest in the South West of England, where the average customer withdrew £1,030 in 2024, followed closely behind by the South East of England, where £1,096 was withdrawn typically.

By the end of 2024, there were 46,182 ATMs, which was 5% fewer than at the end of 2023, when there were 48,401, Link said.

Of these, 37,361 are free-to-use, down from 38,480 a year earlier.

Link has multiple financial inclusion programmes in place and a statutory obligation to help cash availability.

It said nine in 10 people still live within 1km of a free cash access point (an ATM, post office or banking hub).

In 2024, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) introduced new rules to protect access to cash across the UK.

The 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 area if they believe it lacks appropriate cash services.

To date, Link has recommended 184 banking hubs and more than 100 deposit services. These are being delivered by Cash Access UK, which opened the 100th banking hub in late 2024.

Graham Mott, director of strategy at Link, said: “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.”

He said physical banknotes and coins can also help people on low budgets to stay on track, and in situations when IT systems go down, cash “is quite often the only option”.

Here are average annual ATM withdrawals per person aged 16 or over in 2023, followed by 2024, according to Link’s data, taken from ATMs connected to its network: