Post Office

BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE

Post Office reaches cash record

Figures show that business and personal cash deposits, as well as personal cash withdrawals, are all significantly up on last year.

Post Offices in November handled more than £3bn in cash deposits and withdrawals, the highest amount for a single month in its 360-year history.

Post Offices also saw the biggest month for personal cash withdrawals with £743m withdrawn over its counters. The previous highest month was December 2019 when £707m was withdrawn.

In total, £3.01bn was deposited and withdrawn by personal and business customers in November. The figure was £2.92bn in October 2021 and £2.99bn in September 2021.

Personal cash deposits totalled £1.26bn in November, an increase of 5.5% monthon-month, and up 31% year-on-year.

Business cash deposits totalled £1.04bn in November, an increase of more than 4% month-on-month, and up over 45% on a year ago. A recent Post Office survey found 44% of small hospitality and leisure businesses in the UK rely on cash daily. Business cash deposits have exceeded one billion pounds every month since June 2021.

Personal cash withdrawals totalled £743m in November 2021 – the highest amount ever withdrawn over the Post Office’s 11,500 counters. The figure was up 7.3% monthon-month and up 32.2% year-on-year.

Martin Kearsley, Banking Director at Post Office, commented: “Each month comes news of further bank branch closures and in many communities across the country, Post Office is already the last counter in town. Business and personal cash deposits, as well as personal cash withdrawals, are all significantly up on last year and postmasters are now routinely handling around £3bn worth of cash every month.

“Post Offices services ensure the millions of people who rely on cash everyday can access their cash in a quick, convenient and secure manner and we’re working closely with the banks to develop shared branches and offer wider services.”