News

ATM withdrawals way down Down Under

March 14, 2017

Reserve Bank of Australia statistics released Monday show that ATM withdrawals have declined to the lowest level in 15 years and are falling at the fastest rate recorded to date.

Between January 2016 and January 2017, withdrawals have dropped 7.7 percent according to a report by The Sydney Morning Herald. The total value of cash withdrawals in January was down 3.9 percent year over year.

ATM use has declined 6 percent in each of the past two years, the Herald said. Meanwhile, credit card transactions have hit a 13-year high.

With the pending introduction of real-time payments this year in Australia, cash use is likely to decline further, as money transfers between accounts achieve the same immediacy as cash payments, the Herald said.