Last Friday before Christmas was busiest day of 2023 for cash withdrawals
The last Friday before Christmas Day was “by far” the busiest day of this year to date for cash machine withdrawals, according to Link.
The UK cash access and ATM network said Friday December 22 was not only the busiest day in 2023, but the biggest total it had seen for withdrawals since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Around £460 million was withdrawn on Friday December 22, on what was the last working day before Christmas for some people, ahead of a four-day break consisting of two weekend days and two bank holidays.
The average value of a withdrawal on that day was just under £105.
Other notable days for high cash withdrawal totals in 2023 were April 28, when £398 million was withdrawn and May 26, when £370 million was withdrawn.
Graham Mott, director of strategy at Link said: “Friday saw by the far the most cash withdrawn from cash machines this year, in fact the most since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“With many travelling over the Christmas weekend, people visited ATMs to stock up and to undoubtedly use it to give as presents.”
Friday December 22 2023 was the highest total recorded by Link since February 28 2020, when a total of £471 million was withdrawn.
Meanwhile, cash withdrawals at Post Offices hit a record high on Friday December 22, when more than £62 million was taken out over the counter.
Post Office said it was the highest amount ever withdrawn by personal customers on a single day, and exceeds the previous record from last Christmas by more than £10 million.
About £800,000 was withdrawn on Christmas Day itself, the group revealed.
“For some people, being able to withdraw cash for free helped them to finish last-minute shopping for the big day, for others it may have been a last-minute gift,” Ross Borkett, Post Office’s head of banking said.
Press Association – Vicky Shaw