UK Cash Under Pressure

LINK, the UK’s main cash machine operator, reported a 37% drop in the number of ATM cash withdrawals in 2020, a significant fall. But that is still £1.6 billion withdrawn each week - £1,500 for each adult. With nearly 8% fewer free-to-use ATMs and nearly 18% fewer pay-to-use machines, these figures are even more impressive. John Howells, CEO of LINK, the UK’s largest cash machine network, made the point that ‘the sharp decline in ATM use brings significant problems (the) drop in transactions places enormous strain on the cash infrastructure’.