On Tuesday, activists in Australia participated in a community-organized event called Cash Out Day, where they withdrew money from various banks.
It’s not clear how much cash was withdrawn, but some members of the pro-cash community claimed that over half a million dollars was withdrawn in protest of the country’s increasingly digital payment systems.
In a post on its website, Cash Welcome noted that the event could draw thousands of dollars into the community, which would then prompt banks to refill their ATMs.
Its campaign manager, Jason, said that the movement is dedicated to preserving cash as the number of bank branches and ATM locations continues to decline.
In an interview with 7NEWS, Bryce said that although he supports the event, he did not organize it.
He noted that he witnessed the long lines at his local ATM as a result of the event. Australians typically withdraw around a million dollars from the machines on a daily basis.
He wasn’t the only one who noticed a spike in traffic outside banks.
In a post on the internet, one Sydney resident noted that the banks he visited had long lines outside. Some people attributed the high traffic to a coincidence.
Another person said that the same phenomenon could be seen in the way people were getting out of cash.
In support of the event, photos of banknotes that were bound by rubber bands were posted on various pro-cash Facebook groups.
It’s not clear how much was withdrawn, but some members of the pro-cash community claimed that over half a million dollars was withdrawn.
A poll on a pro-cash Facebook group sought to calculate the amount of money withdrawn.
The results of the survey, which had 1448 responses, suggested that the members of the group collectively withdrew around $685,850.