Press release -
Cash deposits and withdrawals exceed £3.5 billion at Post Offices
- Post Offices handled over £3.5 billion in cash deposits and withdrawals over the counter in January – this came even with the impact of Storm Eowyn.
- January and February are always the quietest months for cash transactions at Post Offices. Despite this, personal cash deposits totalled £1.57 billion, up 2.7% month-on-month (£1.52 billion, December 2024) and up 10% year-on-year (£1.42 billion, January 2024).
- Business cash deposits totalled £1.11 billion, down 5% month-on-month (£1.17 billion, December 2024) and down just over 3% year-on-year (£1.14 billion, January 2024) due to the storm.
- Personal cash withdrawals fell from record high in December of £979 million to £828 million in January (down 15%) but were up almost 6.5% year-on-year (£778 million, January 2024).
New figures released today (10 February) reveal that Post Offices handled £3.53 billion in cash transactions in January – even with the impact of Storm Eowyn impacting large parts of the country.
January and February are traditionally quieter months for cash transactions at Post Offices following the Christmas high. The £3.53 billion figure was still up almost £200,000 on January 2024 when Post Offices handled £3.37 billion.
In January, personal cash deposits totalled £1.57 billion, up 2.7% month-on-month (£1.52 billion, December 2024) and up 10% year-on-year (£1.42 billion, January 2024).
In January, business cash deposits totalled £1.11 billion, down 5% month-on-month (£1.17 billion, December 2024) following the busy Christmas period for the hospitality and leisure sectors; and down just over 3% year-on-year (£1.14 billion, January 2024) due to the impact of the storm.
Following a record month for cash withdrawals in December when they exceeded £1 billion over the counter, cash withdrawals totalled £858 million, with personal cash withdrawals accounting for £828 million. Personal cash withdrawals were up almost 6.5% year-on-year (£778 million, January 2024).
Ross Borkett, Post Office Banking Director, said:
“Being able to access and budget with cash remains vital for millions of people every day, particularly in the New Year after a busy Christmas period. Many postmasters went to extraordinary lengths to keep their branches open and serving customers during the bad weather in January and that’s reflected in our figures with over £3.5 billion handled by postmasters and their teams last month.”
Post Office Cash tracker data – January 2025
Cash deposits value (business & personal) | MOM% | YOY% | Cash withdrawals value (business & personal) | MOM% | YOY% | Total cash deposits & withdrawal value for January 2025 | |
UK[1] | £2.67bn | -0.8% | +4.2% | £858.8m | -15.3% | +6.4% | £3.53bn |
England | £2.22bn | +0.1% | +4.1% | £673.4m | -14.7% | +6.0% | £2.90bn |
Scotland | £176.8m | -6.8% | +6.0% | £57.7m | -20.6% | +6.5% | £234.6m |
Wales | £140.3m | -1.8% | +6.6% | £68.4m | -15.7% | +8.1% | £208.7m |
Northern Ireland | £130.4m | -5.8% | +0.4% | £59.2m | -16.9% | +8.8% | £189.6m |
Business cash deposits
Personal cash deposits
Personal cash withdrawals
As at 29 January 2025, 106 hubs have been opened in partnership between Cash Access UK and the Post Office. 203 Banking Hubs have now been announced by LINK with further openings planned for later this year.
For further data and analysis, visit https://corporate.postoffice.co.uk/cashtracker
[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.
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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 its cash and banking; mails and parcels; foreign exchange; and; bill payments services.
- Research has 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.
