New data from Nationwide shows that cash usage continues “to rise as many households respond to the cost-of-living crisis by budgeting with physical money.”
That data also shows where the building society is “the last remaining branch in town, the growth in usage is at its most pronounced.”
Unlike the major banks which have closed significant numbers of branches in recent years, Nationwide has “reaffirmed its commitment to communities by continuing to offer face-to-face service.”
Nationwide’s Branch Promise “means everywhere it has a branch, it will remain until at least 2026.”
Data from Britain’s biggest building society reveals “around 31.4 million cash withdrawals were made from its network of more than 1,200 ATMs last year – a four per cent increase on 2022.”
The average amount of cash taken out “on each withdrawal from Nationwide ATMs was around £105 last year, an increase on the previous year (+1%) that is below the current level of inflation.”
However, it is still “up 28 per cent on 2019 (pre-pandemic).”
It marks the second consecutive annual rise “as 2022 saw the first rise in cash withdrawals for 13 years. Prior to 2022 the number of cash withdrawals had been steadily declining, most sharply at the start of the pandemic when the number of withdrawals at Nationwide ATMs dropped more than 40 per cent in a year (26.4m in 2020 v 44.5m in 2019).”
Otto Benz, Director of Payments at Nationwide Building Society, said:
“ATMs play a vital role in society, enabling people to easily access and manage their money flow. We now have the largest branch network in the UK, which allows us to support customers who want access to cash, whether from our ATMs or over the counter. Unfortunately, the large banks have closed, and in some cases are still closing large numbers of branches, meaning far fewer free-to-use ATMs are available. ATMs do more than just dispense cash – nearly half of transactions are from people paying money in, checking their balance or paying a household bill. This goes to show this is far from the end for cash and we will continue to offer our customers the ability to access their money on their terms whether that be digitally or in branch.”
ATM usage
The rise in multi-use ATMs mean “that cash withdrawals are only part of the picture.”
Nearly half (45%) of all transactions “are for other services – from printing mini-statements and paying bills and changing PINs to paying in cash and cheques.”
When it comes to depositing cash, over the last five years (2018 to 2023) Nationwide has seen a 10 per cent “increase in the number of times its ATMs are used to deposit cash into accounts with the average amount deposited rising to £277 – a 29 per cent increase on five years ago.”
In many places Nationwide is now “the last branch in town, which has reduced the number of options for local people looking for a free-to-use ATM. During the last year, usage at Nationwide ATMs in towns where the Society has now become the last branch in town has increased by an average of 55 per cent.”
The places with the biggest increases in usage “as a result of becoming last branch in town include Twickenham (+154%), Redruth (+144%), Purley (+92%), Broadstone (+80%) and Hunstanton (+77%).”
As covered, Nationwide claims it is “the largest building society as well as one of the largest savings providers and a top-three provider of mortgages in the UK. It is also a major provider of current accounts, credit cards, ISAs and personal loans. Nationwide has around 16 million customers.”
