Cash withdrawals at Nationwide branches up 4% last year, latest data shows

Cash withdrawals at Britain’s biggest building society rose for the second year in a row, new data shows.

Nationwide – which now has more branches than any major bank – recorded 31.4million withdrawals from more than 1,200 cash machines last year.

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 dropping, most sharply at the start of the pandemic when the number of withdrawals at Nationwide ATMs plummeted more than 40 per cent in a year.

On the up: Cash usage has risen for the second year in a row after dropping sharply duing the Pandemic

It comes as lenders have announced at least 189 branches will shut in 2024. The latest exodus follows the 645 that closed last year. Nearly 6,000 have disappeared since the start of 2015.

In towns where Nationwide has become the last branch left standing, it has seen usage spikes on average of 55 per cent – and up to 154 per cent in some spots.

There has been something of a cash renaissance in 2023. A British Retail Consortium report published early last month revealed that cash usage had grown for the first time in a decade, rising to 19 per cent of all transactions, from 15 per cent in 2021.

One reason for the surge in cash usage is that many have returned to budgeting with cash, the BRC says. 

Cash machine usage

Nationwide recorded a rise in multi-use ATMs, which means that cash withdrawals are only part of the picture.

Nationwide ATMs in Twickenham, Redruth and Purley saw respective rises in withdrawals of 154 per cent, 144 per cent and 92 per cent.

Nearly half of all transactions are for other services – from printing mini-statements and paying bills and changing PINs to paying in cash and cheques.

Nationwide saw a 10 per cent increase in the number of times its ATMs were used to deposit cash into accounts over the last five years.

The average amount of cash taken out on each withdrawal from Nationwide ATMs was around £105 last year, a one per cent increase on the previous year.

While the average amount deposited has risen to £277 – a 29 per cent increase on five years ago.

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.

‘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.’

Last branch in town

In the last year, usage at Nationwide ATMs in towns where the building 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 with a 154 per cent rise, Redruth where usage rose 144 per cent) and Purley which saw a 92 per cent spike. 

90 per cent of the increase in withdrawals in last branch in town areas over the last two years has been from non-Nationwide customers.

Nationwide Building Society has pledged to keep branches for customers and has said that everywhere it has a branch, it will remain until at least 2026.

The Financial Conduct Authority recently proposed new rules to protect access to cash in Britain.

Under the proposals, designated banks and building societies will have to assess gaps in access to cash.

Where the assessments show there is a significant gap in a town or that there could be in the future, banks and building societies will be required to deliver additional cash services to fill gaps.

Banks and building societies will need to ensure they do not close cash facilities, including bank branches, until any additional cash services identified are available.

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk