Covid has changed our relationship with cash

People in the North East withdrew an average of over £1,700 from cash machines last year, despite the impact of the coronavirus crisis.

Link, the UK's main cash machine network, says the pandemic has highlighted a change in people attitudes to spending – but a decline in the number of ATMs could cause problems for people who still wants to use notes.

Figures show that people in the region an average of £1,711 from hole in the wall machines last year – down on the previous year’s figure of £2,378. Nationally, the figure dropped to £1,534 from £2,193.

Link said £81bn was withdrawn in 2020 in total, compared with £116bn in 2019 – a fall of around 30%.

The average withdrawal value was nearly £80 in 2020, compared with just under £70 in 2019.

Link chief executive officer John Howells said: "The coronavirus has changed our relationship with cash.

"More people are now confident and happy to shop online or use contactless payments. Our research also shows 75% say they will use less cash going forward.

"However, the sharp decline in ATM use brings significant problems. The good news is that the Government has said it will be bringing forward legislation to protect access to cash but this is needed urgently."

The data shows an average of 32 visits were made per person to ATMs in 2019. In 2020 this fell to 20.

Link said the volume of ATM transactions has tended to fall by about 10% annually in recent years as consumers have turned to alternative payment methods such as contactless cards or online payments.