Westpac has announced a moratorium on further regional bank branch closures until 2027. Westpac’s Jason Yetton has posted a YouTube video where he highlights the importance of face-to-face service, cash and bank branches to towns and rural communities. Which is kinda weird because Westpac has closed at least 195 branches outside the capital cities in recent years. “When I talk to
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Bank customers who seek to withdraw large amounts of physical cash from a bank teller as increasingly being questioned about the reason for the withdrawal. There are plenty of viral videos on social media of people trying to withdraw their own money from their own account and being asked for more information by bank staff. I strongly don’t like arguing
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New research shows 71 per cent of Australians are concerned about going completely cashless – especially Baby Boomers, regional and lower-income Australians. “Research by payments technology company Waave found 41 per cent of Australians are “extremely concerned” about going cashless. Two-thirds say it will exclude people and exacerbate economic inequality, 58 per cent worry about paying more fees, and 42
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There are now three federal government or senate inquiries that affect cash and all three now have no alternative but to recommend ways to protect our right to use and access cash. While banks continue to restrict access to cash, Australians are continuing to find ways to get and use cash. The cashless society increasingly seems to be just a myth.
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Wednesday 20 September 2023: Today, Commonwealth Bank boss Matt Comyn insulted millions of Australians who use physical cash by implying they are being subsidised. However Australians have no choice but to open a bank account if they want to get paid from an employer, Centrelink or the Tax Office. This government mandate effectively subsidises and underpins Matt Comyn’s massive salary and the obscene profits of his dominant
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Australians are not pushing for an end to easy, convenient access to cash. Financial institutions and vested interests might be incentivised to promote cashless transactions but Australians want to the right to choose the way we pay at the point of sale. The number of ATM cash withdrawals is rising just slightly in Australia, despite contracting bank branch and ATM networks.
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Cash remains the most popular way to pay in Australia The value of total banknotes (cash) on issue has not hit “peak cash” and can be expected to continue to rise into the future. Pandemic hoarding led to a big increase in 2020 and 2021 in the total value of notes on issue and that is now being deposited back into the banking
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Today’s ACCC decision recognises that cash is essential to millions of Australians Tuesday 13th June 2023 Today’s Australian Competition and Consumer Commission decision to approve (with conditions) the proposed merger of Australia’s two big Cash In Transit operators recognises the essential role physical currency plays in the economy and lives of millions of Australians. The ACCC’s major concern in making this decision was the potential for
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Last week the RBA’s systems failed leaving thousands of Australians without fast personal payments. The New Payments Platform powers OSKO real time payments that are used by many Aussies to send money to other people via their phone number or email address. The Reserve Bank said in a statement that an error occurred during a planned change to the software
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ATM cash withdrawals are trending up and there’s more cash on issue than ever before. New data from the Reserve Bank of Australia reveals the number of ATM cash withdrawals is trending up in 2022. The value of cash withdrawals is stable, indicating that cash is being withdrawn for daily use, not for hoarding. RBA data also shows the total amount of cash on
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