As United Kingdom’s voters head to the polls on Thursday, a forecast from the UK Cash Access and Cash Machine network Link projects that £235 million (approximately $298 million) will be withdrawn from the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs.)
This figure, as reported on Wednesday, reflects a significant movement of cash during the election period.
Although substantial, this amount is anticipated to be lower than the £322 million withdrawn on December 12, 2019, when the last general election saw Boris Johnson secure his return to Downing Street as Conservative Prime Minister.
Historically, early December has been a busier period for ATM withdrawals.
Further back, on June 8, 2017, another general election date, £356 million was withdrawn from ATMs in the election that resulted in then-Prime Minister Theresa May’s bid to increase her majority backfiring, leading to a hung parliament.
Director of Strategy at Link,
Graham Mott, explained, “Polling day traditionally itself doesn’t seem to make a huge difference to ATM use when compared to a normal Thursday at that time of year; people seem to fit voting around their normal routine.”
He added that early December typically sees more ATM activity than early June or July, though overall ATM use has declined as more people use cards and phones for daily transactions.
Last Thursday (June 27), a total of £240 million was reportedly dispensed from ATMs, according to Link’s data.
This data is specific to Link transactions, which occur when bank customers use ATMs from other providers. Most ATMs in the UK are connected to the Link network.
Mott noted that the earlier part of summer generally sees an increase in ATM transactions as people go out more, but a dip is often observed in August when many UK residents travel abroad for holidays.
In 2023, the Financial Services and Markets Act was passed to protect access to cash. A recent survey for Link indicated that nearly half (48%) of people expect a cashless society in their lifetime, despite this, Link’s data shows that the average UK adult still withdrew around £1,500 from cash machines last year.
Additionally, new banknotes featuring King Charles III’s portrait started circulating in June, marking the first change in the sovereign on Bank of England notes since Queen Elizabeth II’s depiction in 1960.
These new notes will co-circulate with those featuring the late queen. Currently, there are more than 4.6 billion Bank of England notes in circulation, worth around £82 billion.
Mott assured, “Link will also make sure this is still the case by the time of the next general election, whenever that is,” highlighting the network’s commitment to maintaining cash access across the UK.
