Aussies rushed to withdraw cash from ATMs across the country as part of ‘Cash Out Day’ to protest the country’s rush to completely cashless transactions.
Customers headed to branches of the big four banks – Commonwealth Bank, NAB, Westpac and ANZ – on Tuesday to withdraw cash as part of a grassroots campaign organized via social media.
The campaign was promoted on the Facebook page of Cash Welcome, a non-profit organization that campaigns against a cashless economy, and urged Australians across the country to withdraw money from banks in an effort to address concerns about declining to indicate the use of cash.
Those involved in the protest rushed to bank branches across the country on Tuesday to withdraw money from their banks as part of ‘Cash Out Day’ (stock image)
“Withdraw some cash from your local ATM, EFTPOS retailer or bank branch to show you don’t want to be pushed into a cashless Australia,” the message read.
Cash Welcome campaign manager Jason Bryce told Daily Mail Australia that while he did not organize Tuesday’s event, he supports the message it sends.
“I am not in favor of a cashless society,” Bryce said.
‘I promote the freedom to choose how we pay for goods and services, cash or by card and telephone.’
He hailed ‘Cash Out Day’ as a “great success” and said banks must listen to Australians who do not want a cashless society.
“Banks have a duty 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 joined the call.
Customers who participated in the call withdrew hundreds of dollars in cash from ATMs (pictured)
“All the banks I went to today were queuing,” said one user who lives in Sydney.
Another social media user congratulated those who had withdrawn notes.
‘Well done everyone… withdraw money today. Soon the banks and others who try to bully (and) control us will take notice!’ she said.
Others intervened, suggesting that some people had probably withdrawn money after seeing others walking out of bank branches with banknotes in their hands.
‘If you’re looking for something, you see it, just like when you buy a new car and then suddenly see those cars everywhere. It is the same phenomenon that people today (experience) seeing people withdrawing cash,” one social media user commented.
In social media posts, dozens of people showed off hundreds of dollars in cash they had withdrawn from their banks.
It is unclear how much money was withdrawn from the ATMs that day.
Dozens of customers showed off the money they withdrew from ATMs in social media posts (pictured)
Daily Mail Australia contacted the major banks on Tuesday to ask how much money in total had been withdrawn from their respective branches across Australia.
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 sector, there was no material difference in cash withdrawals yesterday. As Australians use cash less and less, we will not run out of cash,” the spokesperson said.
“Australians don’t need to change their behavior when it comes to withdrawing cash; it remains available and accessible to those who wish to use it.”
A customer trends report published by the ABA in 2023 found that Australians are the biggest users of cashless payments, with almost 99 percent of customers conducting their banking transactions online.
Cash now makes up just 13 percent of all total customer payments in Australia.
A 2023 report from the RBA found that 72 percent of Aussies classified themselves as low-cash users.
