Record £2.87bn deposited and withdrawn in cash at Post Offices in June
Personal cash withdrawals totalled £636m, marking the highest figure excluding Christmas since March 2020, the Post Office said.
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Your support makes all the difference.A record amount of cash was deposited and withdrawn at Post Office branches across the UK in June.
In total, £2.87 billion was paid in or taken out in cash in June, with personal cash deposits topping £1 billion for the fourth month in a row, according to the Post Office’s latest “cash tracker”.
Personal cash withdrawals totalled £636 million – the highest figure excluding Christmas since the start of the UK lockdowns in March 2020 – when £634 million-worth of withdrawals were recorded.
The ability to withdraw cash securely over the counter is helping consumers who rely on cash to access it locally
Business cash deposits also exceeded £1 billion, totalling £1.02 billion in June as consumers loosened their purse strings after more than a year of restrictions.
Business cash deposits were up by nearly 24% month on month.
The Post Office said the last time business deposits totalled more than £1 billion, excluding Christmas, was in October 2019, when the figure was £1.05 billion.
The UK Government has said it will legislate to protect the future of cash, following concerns about bank branch and ATM closures.
The Post Office has an agreement with many banks which enables people to do their day-to-day banking through its branches.
Last week, as part of its Save Our Cash Day, the Post Office called for a speeding up of the delivery of frameworks to underpin the long-term future of the cash system.
A Post Office survey of more than 500 UK small businesses last week found that two-thirds (66%) feel the continued use of cash is important to the recovery of the UK retail industry post-lockdown. Nearly a fifth (18%) said they depend on their local Post Office branch for cash and banking services.
Martin Kearsley, banking director at the Post Office, said: “Many branches open late in the evening and at weekends, providing local businesses with a convenient location to deposit much-needed takings and in turn serve their own customers longer too.
“The ability to withdraw cash securely over the counter is helping consumers who rely on cash to access it locally, resulting in more cash being spent with small businesses within local communities.”