Wads of cash were withdrawn from Australian banks and ATMs by activists on Tuesday for a community-organised event called Cash Out Day.
It’s unclear exactly how much cash was pulled out of banks, but some in the pro-cash community have claimed more than half a million dollars was cumulatively withdrawn in protest of increasingly digitised payment systems.
“If everyone did this, it would draw thousands of (dollars) out into the community, and banks will be running around to refill ATMS,” pro-cash group Cash Welcome said in a post about the initiative.
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Cash Welcome campaign manager Jason Bryce uses his bank card from time-to-time, but fronts the movement desperate to prove the importance of keeping cash relevant and accessible as ATM and bank branch numbers rapidly decline.
Bryce told 7NEWS.com.au that while he supports the April 2 event, he didn’t create it.
“Cash Out Day was a very grassroots movement. I’m not sure who started it, but I definitely took part, and I saw the long lines at my local ATM,” he said.
“On an average day in Australia, there are about 1 million ATM cash withdrawals. I would expect that yesterday there was a lot more than that.”
He wasn’t the only one noticing high volumes of traffic outside banks.
“All the banks I went past today had queues out the door,” one Sydney internet user said in a post.
But others noted it might have been a coincidence.
“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,” another netizen said.
Pictures of banknotes bound by rubber bands, splayed on laps, or being spouted from the ATM were proudly plastered across pro-cash Facebook groups on Tuesday.
But it’s unclear exactly how much was withdrawn in total.
An online poll attempting to calculate a portion of the sum in one pro-cash Facebook group with 141,000 members, amassed 1448 responses which suggested the respondents cumulatively withdrew about $685,850, at the time of reporting.
7NEWS.com.au contacted Australia’s biggest four banks for withdrawal data, but none disclosed any information.
The Australian Banking Association (ABA) told 7NEWS.com.au that, as far as it was aware, the Cash Out Day efforts made “no material impact”.
“Across the industry, there was no material difference in withdrawals of cash yesterday. While Australians are using less and less cash, we are not going to be cashless,” an ABA spokesperson told 7NEWS.com.au
“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.”
While the movement might not have made a dent in the national outlook industry-wide, Bryce said the message still rang loud and clear.
“I’m sure the banks and the supermarkets got a very clear message about what ordinary people think about the prospect of going cashless.”
