Australia’s big four banks make controversial move away from cash

Australia’s access to cash is under threat as the number of ATM and bank branches has been cut in half in just seven years.

Thousands of ATMs and local bank branches are being removed across the country even as the number of Aussies using cash rises sharply.

The number of bank-owned branches and bank-owned ATMs has drastically fallen, with Westpac and the Commonwealth Bank leading the move away from cash.

The big four Australian banks have removed 217 ATMs in the past 12 months and a staggering 8,338 bank-owned ATMs in the past seven years.

Bank branches are also becoming a thing of the past, with Aussies losing access to 230 banks in the last financial year and a total of 2,334 in the past seven years.

Combined, the number of bank-owned branches and bank-owned ATMs has halved in seven years from 19,508 to 8,836 as at 30 June 2024, meaning Australia’s banks have dismantled half of their cash distribution network.

While Aussies’ ability to access cash is falling, figures from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) show the number of withdrawals from ATMs in Australia jumped 2.7 per cent from roughly 28.7m in July to 29.4m in August.

Cash campaigners are now calling on banks to “respond to consumer demand” by increasing access to physical funds.

Cash Welcome founder Jason Bryce said there have been around one million ATM withdrawals made in Australia every day over the past two years.

“Banks have closed half of their bank-owned ATMs and branches in seven years, restricting our access to cash,” he said.

“Australians continue to want cash so banks have no excuse for continuing to close branches and ATMs.”

Mr Bryce said the loss of bank-owned ATMs meant increasing numbers of withdrawals attracted a fee, but Aussies were willing to pay to access cash.

A report from financial research agency Canstar found Westpac had closed the most branches out of the big four banks in the last year — a total of 66 closures, representing an 11 per cent decrease in the bank’s branch numbers.

“This is a continuation of Westpac’s strategy to merge the group’s branches together, allowing Westpac, St George, Bank of Melbourne and BankSA customers to access the same facilities,” a Canstar spokesperson said.

In the last year, NAB also scrapped 11 per cent of its branches — removing 53 in total — while the Commonwealth Bank got rid of 32 branches and ANZ ditched 39.

A new Canstar report shows bank branch closures outside the major cities slowed down compared to the 2023 financial year, but 230 branches were still shuttered in the 2024 financial year.

The report found that while regional bank branch closures had slowed, 52 of 230 branches closed last year were regional. In the previous year, 112 regional branches were shuttered.

“A branch or ATM closure in a shopping centre where there are alternatives nearby is very different to a branch closure in outback Australia that forces people into the car, in some cases for hours, to get to and from their new nearest branch,” Canstar data director Sally Tindall said.

Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and ANZ have pledged not to close any regional branches through to the end of 2026.