Digital Banking

Pandemic hurt UK ATM, cash use

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August 13, 2020

U.K. ATM transactions fell 62% annually at the start of the coronavirus lockdown as customers transitioned to digital banking transactions.

The use of cash declined as well, according to a Business Insider report.

In a recent Mastercard survey, 22% of customers stated they had stopped using cash altogether, and 31% of customers in a YouGov study said they will use an ATM less frequently than before the pandemic. Many businesses in the U.K. have opted to go cash-free, increasing the country's contactless transactions in April to £45 ($55).

The pandemic aside, the rapid decline of free-to-use ATMs in the U.K. has had a direct effect on customers. Over the past two years, U.K. banks have shuttered 8,700 free-to-use ATMs, and 25% of ATMs in the U.K. charge up to £2 ($2.52) per withdrawal, making it a more costly choice for customers needing to access cash.

Regulators and consumer advocacy groups are trying to protect access to free withdrawals to answer the needs of the cash-dependent consumer and the population of under banked population.