Press release -
Post Office Cash Tracker - Use of cash in July up 24% at Post Office
- Cash deposits at Post Office branches amounted to £1.8 billion in July, a 27% increase compared with June. Cash withdrawals amounted to £607 million, a 13% increase compared with June.
- Business cash deposits 63% higher in July (£817 million) compared with June; and 155% higher compared with April, when lockdown measures were in place across UK and business cash deposits totalled £320 million.
- Post Office’s ability to remain open throughout pandemic attracts customers who found traditional bank branches closed or operating reduced hours*
- Cash deposits at the Post Office have now returned to pre-COVID levels.
- Use of cash continues to recover as personal withdrawals increase 13% month on month despite increase in ability to pay by contactless
Cash deposits and withdrawals at Post Office counters amounted to £2.4 billion in July. This is around £450 million higher (+24%) compared with June (£1.94 billion). Data is taken from the first Post Office Cash Tracker showing the billions of pounds deposited and withdrawn each month at its 11,500 branch locations.
Post Office Cash tracker data - July 2020
| Cash deposits value | MOM% | YOY% | Cash withdrawals value | MOM% | YOY% | Total cash deposits & withdrawal value for July 2020 | |
| UK[1] | £1.8bn | +26.9% | -10.2% | £607m | +13.2% | -10.1% | £2.4bn |
| England | £1.5bn | +28.5% | -6.6% | £479m | +13.7% | -11.3% | £2.0bn |
| Scotland | £126m | +23.8% | -32.8% | £48m | +7.1% | -2.5% | £174m |
| Wales | £91m | +21.2% | -20.9% | £50m | +12.9% | -12.4% | £141m |
| Northern Ireland | £102m | +14.8% | -10.7% | £31m | +15.1% | +3.1% | £133m |
Business customers
Cash deposits specifically by business customers amounted to £817 million showing how much small businesses and independent retailers continue to rely on cash to survive. The figure for business cash deposits in July 2020 is still 29% down on July 2019 (£1.1 billion). When compared to the start of lockdown, Post Office data shows that in April, just under £320 million was deposited by business customers. This compared with over £1.1 billion in April 2019.
Nick Read, Chief Executive at the Post Office, said:
“Our data tells us that every week business customers are slowly recovering from lockdown as we see a return to pre lockdown levels of cash deposits at Post Offices. Our ability to keep branches open throughout the pandemic attracted cash deposits from small business and independent retailers who found their traditional bank branch closed or operating reduced hours. We expect to see a further increase in business deposits over the summer as the hospitality sector continues to open up.”
Personal customers
The value of cash deposits by personal customers has continued to increase month-on-month since April, and has now exceeded pre-Covid-19 levels. In July, £960 million was deposited in cash at Post Office counters. Deposits have now returned to higher levels than at the equivalent point in 2019 as individuals increasingly turned to the Post Office as a location where they could deposit cash accumulated during the lockdown period. In terms of cash withdrawals by personal customers, £582 million was withdrawn at the Post Office’s 11,500 counters. Withdrawals have yet to exceed the equivalent month the previous year.
Personal cash deposits
Personal cash withdrawals
Nick Read added:
“Our data shows an encouraging growth in personal cash deposits but a slower return to pre- Covid-19 levels of cash withdrawals at our branches, which in part is likely due to the increase in contactless payments and the ability to withdraw cash at ATMs. Nevertheless, being able to withdraw and spend cash on everyday essentials remains vital for millions of people.”
For further data and analysis, visit www.corporate.postoffice.co.uk/cashtracker
Ends
About the Post Office Cash Tracker
Data included in this press release reflects cash services used under the Banking Framework. Over 30 banks and building societies are part of the Banking Framework which enables their customers to withdraw or deposit cash at any of the Post Office’s 11,500 branches. The figures exclude Post Office Card Account withdrawals.
*About 2,280 banks and building society branches and 7,200 cash machines shut between April and June, according to data from the Financial Conduct Authority and the Payments System Regulator, The Sunday Times, 02/08/20
[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.
Categories
About Post Office:
- With 11,500 branches, the Post Office is among the larger retail networks in the UK.
- 98% of Post Office branches are run with retail partners on an agency or franchise basis.
- The Post Office provides services central to peoples’ everyday lives; 99.7% of the population lives within 3 miles of a Post Office.
- We offer the UK’s largest fee free cash withdrawal network through our 11,500 branches, over 2,000 cash machines and 99 per cent of UK bank customers can access their accounts at the Post Office.
- We sell 170 different products and services spanning financial services including savings, insurance, loans, mortgages and credit cards; Government services; telephony; foreign currency; travel insurance and mail services.
- Post Offices branches remain highly valued and trusted, and are the focal point of many communities. For more information; visit www.postoffice.co.uk and to find out about a Post Office business opportunities; visit www.runapostoffice.co.uk
