12 hours Ago By [email protected] (Owen Hughes)
Cash withdrawals from ATMs in North Wales have slumped by as much as half since 2019. New analysis has been published today by LINK, the UK’s cash access and ATM network. It shows that almost five years on since the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK is moving towards a low cash society, albeit at different speeds across Britain.
Over the past twenty years, there has been a shift away from cash with more banking customers choosing to bank and pay for things digitally or with contactless cards. This was accelerated by the pandemic. As a result, cash use has fallen with most recent industry statistics showing that cash represented 12% of all payments, down from around one-quarter of all payments in 2020, and 60% back in 2008.
LINK’s latest analysis shows that the total value of cash withdrawn from cash machines in every single Welsh constituency has seen a significant fall since COVID. Assessing the level of decline in transactions across UK Parliamentary constituencies reveals significant geographic differences. Over the five years, we can see which parts of the country have moved away from cash more quickly and slowly.
The biggest percentage fall came in Bangor Aberconwy, with a 49% fall while there was a 46% fall in Dwyfor Meirionnydd and 46% in Wrexham . At the other end the smallest percentage fall was in Alyn and Deeside at 33%. Nick Quin, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, LINK : “COVID changed how we live, how we work, and for many people, how we manage our cash.
Cash use remains popular – we still withdrew £250m a day in 2024. The fact that areas which are more deprived are moving away from cash more slowly is a timely reminder that we cannot afford to leave anyone behind, and that we need to focus more on digital inclusion as part of how technology is rolled out across the UK.” The North Wales Live Whatsapp community for top stories and breaking news is live now - here’s how to sign up.
