Customers of Australia’s Macquarie Bank will no longer be able to utilize cash at its branches from this month as the company transitions to a digital-only model.
In September last year, it had announced that it would stop providing cash and cheque services to all its financial products by November 2024.
In September, the company noted that it would stop offering cash and cheque services at its branches on May 20, 2024.
Customers will also no longer be able order new deposit or cheque books. The bank noted that it would now allow them to make payments using its digital platform.
The company also said that it would end its partnership with National Australia Bank branches on November 1.
This means that its customers will no longer be able deposit or withdraw cash from these locations. Following the announcement by Macquarie, the country’s major banks promised their customers that they would still provide in-branch cash services for the foreseeable future.
Some of Australia’s major banks, such as ANZ, Commonwealth Bank, and National Australia Bank, have stopped providing cash services in some of their branches. The move has sparked a backlash from customers. According to the ABA, almost a hundred percent of all interactions between banks and their customers happen digitally, while more than 1,600 local branches have closed over the past couple of years.
According to the Reserve Bank of Australia, the pandemic caused the cash usage to decline significantly. In 2022, only around 13 percent of all payments were made with cash, which is significantly lower than the 70 percent recorded in 2007. Meanwhile, the ABS revealed that the number of ATM withdrawals has also significantly decreased. From 2008 to 2023, the number of withdrawals decreased from 78 million to 30 million.
More businesses stopped accepting cash during the pandemic. According to the RBA, the percentage of businesses accepting cash has remained relatively high at 94 percent in June 2022. However, it’s believed that by the end of 2025, cash will be considered a rare commodity in the country. Richard Holden, an economics professor at the University of NSW, said that it would be very unlikely for people to use cash in the future.
He noted that unless the government takes immediate action to accelerate the cash processing process, it’s likely that the country will become completely cashless by 2030. Despite the lack of genuine use cases, Chris Vasantkumar of Macquarie University said that cash was still unlikely to disappear completely.
Despite the positive effects of implementing a cashless society, some people still have concerns about the lack of privacy. He noted that increased transparency could also lead to the surveillance of individuals.
Angel Zhong, a finance professor at RMIT, said that a cashless society would likely see over 90 percent of its transactions being conducted digitally. However, he noted that cash would not lose its value.
Despite the advantages of a cash-free society, some people are still apprehensive about the safety of their personal information and the security of their transactions.