Cash advocates are mobilising to send a strong message to Australia's major financial institutions as the number of ATMs and bank branches continues to decline. Australians are being called upon to support a community-driven initiative by making a withdrawal from an ATM or bank as part of Cash Out Day.
Cash Out Day Aims to Boost Withdrawals
Approximately 900,000 ATM cash withdrawals are made daily in 2025, but Jason Bryce from Cash Welcome hopes this figure will double on Tuesday. Bryce stated that Cash Out Day serves as a clear signal to banks and authorities that while tap-and-go and other digital payment methods offer convenience, Australia has not voted in favour of becoming a cashless society.
“This looks like it could be the biggest Cash-Out Day yet, judging from the general interest, posts on social media and the media chatter in the lead-up,” Bryce told 7NEWS.com.au. “I’m hoping at least two million Aussies will make a cash withdrawal to send a clear message that card and phone payments are fine but we don’t want to lose access to cash, mostly for privacy, reliability and budgeting reasons.”
He noted that the annual grassroots push “does make a difference”, highlighting that after Cash Out Day in 2024, the government announced plans to legislate a cash mandate.
Cash Use Shows Signs of Recovery
National Seniors Australia recently hailed the “comeback” of physical money after the Reserve Bank of Australia’s consumer payments survey showed an increase in cash transactions, rising from 13 per cent in 2022 to 15 per cent in 2025. The report emphasised that the “ability to use cash remains highly valued by many Australians”.
About half of Australia’s population uses cash in a typical week, and one-third of participants said they “would face hardship or major inconvenience if they could not withdraw cash”.
Decline in Bank Branches and ATMs
Canstar analysis of APRA data revealed that the number of bank branches fell by 33 per cent (1,564 branches) in the five years to mid-2025, while the number of bank ATMs dropped by almost 50 per cent (a loss of 4,478 machines). Over the same period, Australia’s total network of automated teller machines shrank by about 13 per cent, representing nearly 4,000 ATMs.
Around 75 per cent of respondents in the RBA survey reported having convenient access to cash withdrawal services, but perceptions of convenience have declined, a result that is “broadly consistent with the decline” in cash access points.
Cash Remains Resilient
“This RBA survey is proof that while cash may no longer be king, it’s certainly not going the way of the cheque,” said Sally Tindall, Canstar data insights director. “In fact, in a world that’s gone digital-first, cash is proving to be remarkably resilient. For the first time in the survey’s almost two-decade long history, we’re seeing a rise in the use of cash, despite the convenience of tapping a phone or a watch.”
Tindall noted that the impending ban on surcharges for debit and credit card payments “will impact cash use to a degree”. However, she added, “this won’t spell the end of cash, with the RBA survey showing there’s a huge range of reasons people pay with cash — whether that’s for budgeting purposes, to pay the kids pocket money or for privacy reasons. Based on these survey results, cash isn’t going anywhere, anytime soon.”
