More people turning to cash again.

CASH WITHDRAWLS RISING

New data from the Reserve Bank this week suggests physical currency could be making a comeback, with more people choosing to withdraw cash from their bank accounts.

The number of withdrawals from ATMs in Australia jumped 2.7 per cent between July (28,671,000 transactions) and August (29,438,600 transactions).

This spike amounted to a further 767,600 transactions across Australia.

News of the spike in ATMs withdrawals was celebrated on the ‘Cash is King’ Facebook group, where many urged Aussies to “keep cash alive” and ditch digital payments.

The figures come as Westpac announced it will be scrapping its cardless cash withdrawal feature from Friday, although customers can still access physical money using their card.

The number of ATM withdrawals has remained relatively stable for the last three years, following an additional shrinkage of use during the ‘pandemic’ period.

Remember when they told people that handling cash could ‘spread coronavirus’?

As such, only about 7 per cent of transactions are done with cash, mainly due to propaganda of ‘convenience’ over the years, but some people are now waking up to the sham that is at play.

A sham that has very grim consequences for personal freedoms if allowed to continue.

THE FIGHT BACK

Cash campaigners are now calling on banks to “respond to consumer demand” by increasing access to money you can hold in your hand.

Cash Welcome founder Jason Bryce said about one million ATM withdrawals are made in Australia every day, yet consumers are increasingly being slugged with fees.

There’s been a backlash on surcharging recently.

You pay for a $4 coffee, and suddenly it’s $4.17 instead, so there are many reasons why cash is still very much alive and well even if not used by a great majority of people.

In March, pro-cash activists flocked to ATMs to withdraw money in protest of Australia’s move to a cashless society, which made news headlines across the country.

Bryce said cash had also benefits that digital payment options cannot match – “privacy, reliability, ease of budgeting and instant settlement”.

He said these factors are “valued highly” by consumers.

“Banks have no excuse for continuing to close branches and ATMs while Australians want and expect to be able to get cash,” he said.

We have been big proponents of slowing the sprint towards a cashless society, which we believe largely relies on an elderly population keeping it alive, as well as other case studies of societal reaction.

Slowing the sprint towards a cashless society

But time is of the essence, and each and every year, things continue to gain steam in their favour.

Macquarie Bank went cashless in May, and WA-based Bankwest was accused of abandoning its customers following a decision to close every one of its branches and transition to a completely digital business.

Macquarie Bank joins cashless society push

Bankwest closing branches in ‘solely digital’ cashless shift

Some businesses, including fast food giant Nandos, have gone cashless. While Gloria Jean’s Coffee has also stopped taking cash payments at some of its stores in a trial it said reflects customer behaviour.

Last year, 7-Eleven announced it would begin removing ATMs from 762 stores nationally.

Cashless society: 7-Eleven stores to begin removing ATMs

In 2017, Australia had close to 14,000 bank-owned ATMs. But by mid-2023, that had been trimmed to about 5700. And more have been cut since then.

Approximately 1,300 bank branches have closed on a national level from 2017-2021, including a 23 per cent decline in regional areas.

Australian bank branches are closing at an alarming pace

Meanwhile, the digital currency ‘solution’ is waiting around the corner as the replacement for the fiat sham, the next evolution of the usury slave system established many years ago.

But this is a different level, as all movements can be tracked, while fees suck the lifeblood out of citizens, into the pocket of offshore corporations that have shares in our major banks.