Bank / Credit Union

ATM withdrawals jump during England’s second lockdown

Photo provided by iStock

November 4, 2020

Cash withdrawals from ATMs have jumped since the second national lockdown in England was put into effect last week according to report in Yahoo Finance.

More than £174 million ($226 million) was withdrawn on Sunday Nov.1, making it the second busiest Sunday since March 15, according to figures from Link, the UK's main cash machine network

It was only beaten by the bank holiday weekend on Sunday Aug. 30, when £190 million ($247 million) was withdrawn across the UK.

The average total value of withdrawals on any Sunday throughout lockdown has been £137 million ($178 million) indicating the second day after the lockdown was announced withdrawals were up by 27%.

On Monday, Nov.2, £238 million ($309 million) was withdrawn, making it the busiest Monday since March 16.

The average Monday since the start of April has seen £189 million ($245 million) of withdrawals, meaning a 26% increase this week.

Link director of strategy Graham Mott said: "At the beginning of the first lockdown ATM transactions fell by as much as 60%, with some ATMs temporarily closing because they were in locations like shops, garden centers and pubs, or for social distancing.

"We will keep a close eye to see what happens in the next week or so to see whether there is a similar drop-off. Cash remains vital and hopefully many of these withdrawals are being used to support community businesses or do some early Christmas shopping."

There are around 42,000 free-to-use and 13,500 charging cash machines across the UK.