Post Office has reported that cash transactions fell 94% year-on-year in September due to the additional bank holiday for the Queen’s state funeral.
The figures show that £3.35bn in cash deposits and withdrawals were handled at Post Offices in September.
Cash withdrawals totalled £785m in September, a dip of 2.5% month-on-month. Post Office attributes the continuing high levels of cash withdrawals to the ongoing closure of local bank branches, with people turning to the Post Office to support them with their cash needs. In addition, as the cost of living begins to bite, people are also increasingly turning to cash to manage their budget on a week-by-week basis and often day-by-day.
In September, despite the unexpected Bank Holiday, personal cash deposits were still up 0.6% on August with £1.43bn deposited by personal customers. Business cash deposits totalled £1.11bn, down 7.3% month-on-month.
Martin Kearsley, Banking Director at Post Office, said: “The vast majority of Post Offices quite rightly remained closed on the day of Her Majesty The Queen’s state funeral as the whole country came together to mourn Her Majesty and reflect on her legacy. This did, of course, result in a dip in cash withdrawals and deposits by business customers given many retailers and businesses were also closed.
“We expect cash transactions to continue to exceed expectations in October and for the rest of the year.”
