Press release -
Post Office predicts close to £1 billion in personal cash withdrawals in December; despite impact of ‘Storm Bert’ in November
- Post Office predicts close to £1 billion in personal cash withdrawals will take place at its branches in December – exceeding previous record high of £930 million in December 2023.
- Personal cash withdrawals on Monday 2 December 2024 up 10% on the equivalent Monday in 2023
- Post Offices handled £3.5 billion worth of cash deposits and withdrawals in November compared with £3.7 billion in October as a result of ‘Storm Bert’ impacting large parts of the country in late November.
- Personal cash deposits in November totalled £1.45 billion, down 4.5% month-on-month (£1.52 billion, October 2024) but up 12.3% year-on-year (£1.29 billion, November 2024).
- Business cash deposits in November totalled £1.12 billion, down 7% month-on-month (£1.21 billion, October 2024) but up 1.5% year-on-year (£1.11 billion, November 2024).
The Post Office is predicting that close to £1 billion worth of cash will be withdrawn over the counter at its branches in December.
Last December, Post Offices handled a then record £930 million worth of personal cash withdrawals at its branches.
New figures released today (10 December) reveal the impact ‘Storm Bert’ had on cash transactions at Post Offices in November.
Just over £3.5 billion in cash deposits and withdrawals were handled by branches in November. This compared with £3.7 billion in October and Post Office has attributed this month-on-month fall to ‘Storm Bert’ which impacted Wales, the South West of England, Central England and Scotland at the end of November.
Personal cash deposits totalled £1.45 billion which was down 4.5% month-on-month (£1.52 billion, October 2024) but was up 12.3% year-on-year (£1.29 billion, November 2024).
Business cash deposits in November totalled £1.12 billion which was down 7% month-on-month (£1.21 billion, October 2024) but was up 1.5% year-on-year (£1.11 billion, November 2024).
Personal cash withdrawals totalled £916 million in November which dipped 1.3% month-on-month (£928 million, October 2024) but was up 4.3% year-on-year (£879 million, November 2024).
Ross Borkett, Post Office Banking Director, said:
“Following the large-scale disruption caused by Storm Bert last month, postmasters and their teams are on hand to support small businesses who desperately rely on cash takings in the run-up to Christmas. Our branches provide somewhere convenient and secure where they can deposit their cash.
“Many people rely on cash in order to budget in the run-up to Christmas Day and the trends we’re seeing indicate that personal cash withdrawals will be greater in December than the previous year. People can withdraw the cash they need, to the penny, at our branches with many open long hours and on the weekend.”
Post Office Cash tracker data – November 2024
Cash deposits value (business & personal) | MOM% | YOY% | Cash withdrawals value (business & personal) | MOM% | YOY% | Total cash deposits & withdrawal value for November 2024 | |
UK[1] | £2.57bn | -5.6% | +7.3% | £951m | -1.3% | +4.4% | £3.52bn |
England | £2.14bn | -5.8% | +7.6% | £747.4m | -1.4% | +4.7% | £2.89bn |
Scotland | £174.5m | -6.6% | +7.3% | £64.4m | +0.6% | +1.8% | £238.8m |
Wales | £134.2m | -5.0% | +9.4% | £74.7m | -1.2% | +5.1% | £208.8m |
Northern Ireland | £126.5m | -2.7% | +1.1% | £64.7m | -2.0% | +2.8% | £191.2m |
Business cash deposits
Personal cash deposits
Personal cash withdrawals
Banking Hubs
As at 16 October, 88 hubs have been opened in partnership between Cash Access UK and the Post Office. 168 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.
Categories
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.
