Press release -
October Post Office cash deposits and withdrawals exceed £2.9 billion for second month running
- Post Offices handled almost £3 billion in cash deposits and withdrawals in October £2.92 billion)
- Business cash deposits exceeded £1 billion for the fifth month in succession
- Post Offices in October saw highest amount of personal cash withdrawals all year at £692 million
Post Offices in October handled almost £3 billion in cash deposits and withdrawals continuing the strong performance seen in September.
Business cash deposits exceeded £1 billion for the fifth month in succession, although saw a 5% fall month-on-month (£1.06 billion, September 2021). Personal cash deposits dipped 1.8% month-on-month (£1.2 billion, October 2021 compared with £1.22 billion, September 2021). Overall, business and personal cash deposits were still up over 15% year-on-year.
Post Offices saw the highest amount of personal cash withdrawals all year in October with over £692 million taken out over the counter. That was up 1% on last month (£685.5 million, September 2021) and up almost 18% on last year (£589 million, October 2020).
A recent Post Office survey found nearly half (44%) of small hospitality and leisure businesses in the UK rely on cash daily. A third (34%) of hospitality and leisure business owners said they would fear for the security of their business if they didn’t have the ability to deposit cash at the end of each day. Post Office recently launched a ‘Save Our Cash’ campaign calling for the Government to speed up legislation to protect access to cash for the millions of people and businesses that rely on it.
Martin Kearsley, Banking Director at Post Office, said:
“Small businesses, particularly in the hospitality and leisure sectors, recognise the value of cash now more than ever. Many of their customers rely on cash, and to ensure services they offer are available to everyone in their communities, they need to accept cash to operate. Post Offices are a local, secure and reliable place where they can quickly deposit it without missing out on trade.
“October saw another strong month across our network in supporting customers and businesses to deposit and withdraw cash conveniently and securely. Postmasters are keeping their branches open long hours, playing an essential role in the cash ecosystem in their community.”
Post Office Cash tracker data – October 2021
Cash deposits value (business & personal) | MOM% | YOY% | Cash withdrawals value (business & personal) | MOM% | YOY% | Total cash deposits & withdrawal value for October 2021 | |
UK[1] | £2.20bn | -3.5% | +15.2% | £717.7m | +1.0% | +17.3% | £2.92bn |
England | £1.81bn | -3.4% | +16.5% | £559.3m | +0.5% | +16.0% | £2.37bn |
Scotland | £162.4m | -4.4% | +9.2% | £54.9m | +3.1% | +14.1% | £217m |
Wales | £112.3m | -4.9% | +14.7% | £58.5m | +1.1% | +16.8% | £171m |
Northern Ireland | £114.0m | -0.7% | +5.9% | £44.9m | +3.7% | +44.2% | £159m |
Business cash deposits
Personal cash deposits
Personal cash withdrawals
For further data and analysis, visit www.corporate.postoffice.co.uk/cashtracker
Ends
About Post Office Cash Tracker and access to cash
Data included in this press release reflects cash services used under the Banking Framework. Over 30 banks and building societies are part of the Banking Framework which enables their customers to withdraw or deposit cash at any of the Post Office’s 11,500 branches. The figures exclude Post Office Card Account withdrawals.
Post Office is running its ‘Save our Cash’ campaign. At www.SaveOurCash.co.uk, visitors can hear the real stories of people reliant on cash and learn more about how cash plays such a pivotal role in their lives. Post Office is calling on as many people as possible to write to their MP to support policies and legislation that protect cash and place an obligation on the banks to guarantee access to cash across the UK.
[1] Figures for cash deposits value and cash withdrawals value by country have been rounded to the nearest million. This is why value figures per country will not add up exactly to the total for the UK.
Categories
About the Post Office
- With over 11,500 branches, Post Office has the biggest retail network in the UK, with more branches than all the banks and building societies combined.
- Post Office is helping anyone who wants cash to get it whichever way is most convenient. Partnership with over 30 banks, building societies and credit unions means that 99% of UK bank customers can access their accounts at their Post Office.
- Cash withdrawals, deposits and balance enquiries can be made securely and conveniently over the counter at any Post Office; and the biggest investment by any organisation or company in the last decade is being made to safeguard 1,400 free-to-use ATMs across the UK.
- Post Office is simplifying its proposition for Postmasters with a focus on itscash and banking; mails and parcels; foreign exchange; andbill paymentsservices.
- Researchhas found that visits to the Post Office help drive another 400 million visitors to other shops, restaurants and local businesses equating to an estimated £1.1 billion in additional revenue for High Street businesses.
- 99.7% of the population live within three miles of a Post Office; and 4,000 branches are open seven days a week.
