News

10 percent of Brits leave currency at the cash machine

January 9, 2014

Research by U.K.-based personal account management firm thinkmoney has found that nearly 10 percent of British ATM users have, at some point, walked away from a machine without collecting their money.

Lest you assume that these 5 million forgetful folks are the same decrepit oldsters who walk into a room and can't remember what they're there for, consider this: Thinkmoney research revealed that younger people are, in fact, the cohort most likely to toddle off without their cash.

Most absent-minded ATM users are fortunate enough to have used a machine that retracts unclaimed cash after some seconds, meaning that they can can later reconcile the transaction with their bank, thinkmoney said.

But for some, no such luck; the next quick-witted ATM user nips off with the loser's pub money.

For the study, OnePoll questioned a representative sample of 3,425 British adults aged 18 and over from July 5–11.

Read more about trends and statistics.