Aussies rushed to withdraw money from ATMs on 'Cash Out Day' in protest at cashless society

Aussies rushed to withdraw cash at ATMs across the country as part of 'Cash Out Day' to protest the nation's haste towards wholly cashless transactions. 

Customers went to the branches of the big four banks - Commonwealth Bank, NAB, Westpac, and ANZ - on Tuesday to withdraw money as part of a grassroots campaign arranged through social media.

The campaign was promoted on the Facebook page of Cash Welcome, a non-profit group campaigning against a cashless economy, and urged Aussies across the country to withdraw money from banks in a bid to make their concerns about the dwindling use of cash known.

'Withdraw some cash at your local ATM, EFTPOS retailer or bank branch to show you don't want to be herded into a cashless Australia,' the post read. 

Jason Bryce, the campaign manager for Cash Welcome, told Daily Mail Australia that while he didn't set up the event on Tuesday, he supports the message it promoted. 

'I'm not an advocate for a cashless society,' Mr Bryce said. 

'I promote freedom to choose how we pay for goods and services, either cash or card and phone.'

He praised 'Cash Out Day' as a 'huge success' and said banks need to listen to Aussies who don't want a cashless society.  

'Banks have an obligation to ensure we can get cash in every suburb and town because we are forced to deposit our money in the banks,' he said. 

Some social media users noticed there there were long lines outside of bank branches on Tuesday, as customers participated in the callout. 

'All the banks that I went past today had queues out the door,' one user who lives in Sydney said. 

Another social media user congratulated those who withdrew bank notes. 

'Good on everyone … drawing out cash today. Soon the banks & others trying to bully [and] control us, will take notice!' she said. 

Others chimed in to suggest some people probably withdrew cash after they noticed other walking out of bank branches with bank notes in their hands. 

'When you look for something, you see it - kind of like when you buy a new car and then suddenly see those cars everywhere. It's the same phenomenon people [experienced] today with seeing people getting out cash,' one social media user commented. 

In social media posts, dozens of people flaunted hundreds of dollars of cash that they withdrew from their bank. 

It is unclear how much money was pulled out of ATMs on the day.  

Daily Mail Australia contacted the major banks to ask how much money was withdrawn in total at their respective branches across Australia on Tuesday. 

A spokesperson from 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 industry, there was no material difference in withdrawals of cash yesterday. Whilst Australians are using less and less cash, we are not going to be cashless,' the spokesperson said. 

'Australians don’t need to change their behaviour when it comes to withdrawing cash, it will continue to be available and accessible to those who wish to use it.'

A customer trends report released in 2023 by the ABA found that Aussies are the top users of cashless payments with almost 99 per cent of customers conducting their bank transactions by online means. 

Cash now forms just 13 per cent of all total customer payments in Australia. 

A report released by the RBA in 2023 found that 72 per cent of Aussies classified themselves as low cash users.