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Australians rushed to withdraw cash at ATMs across the country as part of ‘Cash Out Day’ to protest the country’s rush to fully cashless transactions.
Customers flocked to branches of the big four banks (Commonwealth Bank, NAB, Westpac and ANZ) on Tuesday to withdraw money as part of a grassroots campaign organized through social media.
The campaign was promoted on the Facebook page of Cash Welcome, a non-profit group campaigning against a cashless economy, and urged Australians across the country to withdraw money from banks in a bid to raise awareness their concerns about the decreasing use of cash.
Those involved in the protest rushed to bank branches across the country to withdraw cash from their banks on Tuesday as part of ‘Cash Out Day’ (file image)
“Withdraw some cash at your local ATM, EFTPOS retailer or bank branch to show you don’t want to be dragged into a cashless Australia,” the post said.
Jason Bryce, Cash Welcome’s campaign director, told WhatsNew2Day Australia that while he did not organize Tuesday’s event, he supports the message it promoted.
“I’m not a fan of a cashless society,” Bryce said.
‘I promote the freedom to choose how we pay for goods and services, whether in cash or by card and telephone.’
He hailed ‘Cash Out Day’ as a ‘huge success’ and said banks must listen to Australians who don’t want a cashless society.
“The banks have an obligation to ensure that we can get cash in every suburb and city because we are forced to deposit our money in the banks,” he said.
Some social media users noticed long lines outside bank branches on Tuesday as customers participated in the protest.
Customers who participated in the call withdrew hundreds of dollars in cash from ATMs (pictured)
“Every bank I passed by today had lines out the door,” said one user who lives in Sydney.
Another social media user congratulated those who withdrew the bills.
‘Good everyone… get cash out today. Soon the banks and others who try to intimidate (and) control us will realize this!’ she said.
Others chimed in to suggest that some people probably withdrew cash after noticing others leaving bank branches with bills in their hands.
“When you look for something, you see it, kind of like when you buy a new car and suddenly you see those cars everywhere. It’s the same phenomenon that people (experience) today when watching people take out cash,” commented one social media user.
In social media posts, dozens of people flaunted hundreds of dollars in cash they withdrew from their bank.
It is unclear how much money was withdrawn from the ATMs that day.
Dozens of customers flaunted the cash they withdrew from ATMs in social media posts (pictured)
WhatsNew2Day Australia contacted major banks to ask how much money was withdrawn in total at their respective branches across Australia on Tuesday.
A spokesperson for the Australian Banking Association (ABA), the peak body representing the banking system, said the number of cash withdrawals did not exceed normal amounts.
‘Across the industry, there were no material differences in cash withdrawals yesterday. “While Australians are using cash less and less, we will not run out of cash,” the spokesperson said.
“Australians do not need to change their behavior when withdrawing cash, it will continue to be available and accessible to those who wish to use it.”
A customer trends report published in 2023 by the ABA found that Australians are the largest users of cashless payments, with almost 99 per cent of customers banking online.
Cash now accounts for just 13 per cent of all total customer payments in Australia.
A report published by the RBA in 2023 found that 72 per cent of Australians were classified as low-cash users.