Over £70m withdrawn from Post Office branches over Coronation bank holiday

New figures today reveal £70.73m in cash was withdrawn at Post Offices over the King’s Coronation bank holiday weekend (05 – 08 April).

Many Post Offices were open and played a vital role supporting small businesses and the hospitality sector to deposit cash takings over the Bank Holiday. Friday 5^th April was the busiest day for business cash deposits, with a total of £47.51m deposited across the UK in Post Office branches.

On the same day, a total of £33.84m of personal cash withdrawals were made in England, the busiest day of the bank holiday for personal withdrawals. Personal cash withdrawals all exceeded £3m in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales on Friday, ahead of the King’s Coronation bank holiday weekend.

In April, cash deposits and withdrawals over the counter amounted to £3.05 billion at its 11,500 branches.

Excluding Christmas when cash withdrawals are usually at their highest (£3.294 billion was deposited and withdrawn in December), last September was the previous high, with £3.35 billion was deposited and withdrawn over the counter at Post Offices.

Personal cash withdrawals in April totalled £760 million, down almost 6% month-on-month (£805 million, March 2023), driven by the two Easter bank holidays reducing overall volumes. However, the average transaction value of personal withdrawals was up 2% compared to March.

Business cash deposits totalled £1.06 billion in April, down over 8% month-on-month (£1.15 billion, February 2023), while personal cash deposits totalled £1.2 billion in April, down 8 % month-on-month (£1.3 billion, March 2023).

Since 2015, Banks and building societies have closed (or scheduled the closure) of 5,605 branches, an average of 54 bank branches a month. Post Office has partnerships with over 30 banks, building societies and credit unions meaning that 99% of UK bank customers can access their accounts at their Post Office branch.

In April 2023 there were almost 5.2 million cash deposit transactions at Post Offices. That was up 6% year on year. Last April, there were 4.86 million cash deposit transactions. 

Martin Kearsley, Post Office Banking Director, said: “People up and down the UK withdrew over £70 million from Post Offices as many in the country celebrated the King’s Coronation over the bank holiday weekend.

The withdrawals we saw over the bank holiday shows just how many still use cash as their main payment method, especially during local community celebrations where a Post Office might be the only way to access cash in town after the banks have closed.”